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BERKELEY 

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UH'Vr?5ITY  OF 
CALIf-CRNIA 


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IbM     II  M    K  \\(.i: 


Ctie  lOotlD  Co=Dap  ^etieg 
THE 

COMING    CANADA 


BY 


JOSEPH    KING    GOODRICH 

Sometime  Professor  in  the  Imperial 
Government  College,  Kyoto 


WITH    40   ILLUSTRATIONS   FROM   PHOTOGRAPHS 


CHICAGO 

A.    C.    McCLURG   &   CO. 

1913 


COPYRIGHT,  I913 
BY  THE  PLIMPTON  PRESS 


PUBLISHED,  OCTOBER,  IQIS 


Copyright  in  England 
AH  rights  reserved 


THE'PLIMPTON«PRHSS 
NORWQOD'MASS'U'S'A 


PREFACE 

I  WISH  to  express  my  thanks  to  the  heads  and  sub- 
ordinates of  the  various  departments  and  bureaus 
of  the  Dominion  Government,  at  Ottawa,  for  the  assist- 
ance rendered  in  procuring  afresh  much  of  the  material 
used  in  preparing  this  book.  I  add  my  thanks  to  many 
officials  of  provinces  and  cities  who  displayed  kindly 
interest  in  my  effort  and  also  gave  assistance.  The 
number  of  individuals  who  helped  me  in  many  ways  is 
too  great  for  me  to  name  all  of  them;  and  if  I  mention 
Arthur  George  Doughty,  Esq.,  C.M.G.,  LL.D.,  Deputy 
Minister  and  Dominion  Archivist,  and  Martin  J.  Griffin, 
Esq.,  C.M.G.,  LL.D.,  Parliamentary  Librarian,  it  must 
not  be  assumed  that  the  others  are  not  gratefully  remem- 
bered. Let  me  say  "Thank  you"  to  the  Canadian 
people. 

The  officials  of  the  great  railway  systems  have  been 
most  liberal  in  supplying  the  photographs  which  have 
been  reproduced  as  illustrations,  and  most  generous  in 
allowing  me  to  make  such  use  of  the  pictures.  In  the 
list  of  illustrations  letters  indicate  from  whence  the  origi- 
nal photographs  came.  Here  I  say  that  D.I.  indicate 
those  reproduced  by  permission  of  F.  F.  C.  Lynch,  Esq., 
Superintendent,  Railway  Land  Branch,  Department  of 
the  Interior;    I.C,  those  reproduced  by  permission  of 


4    «. 


VI  PREFACE 

the  Intercolonial  Railway  of  Canada ;  G.T.,  those  repro- 
duced by  permission  of  the  Grand  Trunk  or  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific;  C.P.,  those  reproduced  by  permission 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific;  C.N.,  those  reproduced  by 
permission  of  the  Canadian  Northern.  That  they  add 
much  to  the  interest  of  the  book  need  not  be  stated. 

I  wish  I  could  feel  that  I  have  done  justice  to  my 
subject;  I  can  truthfully  say  I  have  done  my  best. 

J.  K.  G. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     Early  History i 

II.     Colonisation  —  The  Folklore  of  Canada  17 

III.  The  Beginning  of  New  France      ...  27 

IV.  The  Great  Hudson's  Bay  Company     .     .  47 
V.      Conflict:     Wars    in    America    between 

France  and  England 64 

VI.     The  Dominion  of  Canada 83 

VII.     The  Government  of  Canada  and  Cognate 

Subjects 94 

VIII.     The  Wealth  of  Canada no 

IX.     Physical  Canada 127 

X.     Ca-nada  for  tite  Tourist  and  the  Sports- 
man      138 

XL     Canada  and  the  United  States      .     .     .  150 

XII.     The  Lure  of  Canada 164 

XIII.  Development  of  Railways i77 

XIV.  The  Great  St.  Lawrence  Basin     .     .     .  192 
XV.     The  Canadian  Rocky  Mountains   ...  205 

XVI.     The  Hudson  Bay  Territory 215 

XVII.     The  Canadian  Wheat  Fields     ....  229 

XVIII.     A  Model  Province:  Manitoba  ....  239 

vii 


Viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.      Canada  in    Winter 249 

XX.     Some  Canadian  Towns 261 

XXI.     A  Few  Canadians 271 

XXII.     Reciprocity     .     .     .     .     .^ 281 

XXIII.     Canada  and  the  British  Empire     ...  291 

Bibliography 301 

Index 3^5 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Turn  Turn  Range.     Canadian  Northern  Railway .   .    .  Frontispiece 

Boat   Landing,   Tete   Jaune   Cache,    Fraser   River,   British 
Columbia.     Grand  jyiuik  Pacific  Railway  .    .  Facing  page  6 

Laying  Rails,  Tete  Jaune,  British  Columbia,  July  17,  191 2. 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway 6 

Restigouche  Club  House,  Metapedia  River,  New  Brunswick. 
Intercolonial  Railway 10 

Entrance  to  Resplendent  Valley,  British  Columbia,     Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  Railway 16 

**  Pierced  Rock."     From  Steamer,  Intercolonial  Railway  ...      24 

Preparing  Fish,  Pierced  Rock,  New  Brunswick.     Intercolonial 
Railway 24 

Meadow  Land,  British  Columbia.     Canadian  Norther 71  Rail- 
way   34 

Fording  Moose  River,  British  Columbia.     Grand  Trunk  Pacific 
Railway 34 

Canadian   Northern   Railway   Elevator,  Capacity    7,500,000 
bushels.     Port  Arthur,  Ontario 44 

Beach  at  Little  Metis,  Quebec  Province.     Intercolonial  Rail- 
way   44 

Prince  Rupert  Harbour.     Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway  ...     60 

On    Moose  Trail    River,   British   Columbia.     Grand  Trunk 
Pacific  Railway 60 

Farm  Scene,  Bic,  Rimouski  County,  Quebec  Province.     Inter- 
colonial Railway 68 

Orchards    at    Summerland,    British    Columbia.     Canadian 
Pacific  Railway 84 

Mount  Robson  and  Berg  Lake,  British  Columbia.     Gratui 
Trunk  Pacific  Railway 92 

Hopewell  Rocks,  New  Brunswick.     Intercolonial  Railway  .    .    100 

Wheat  Field  and   Summer  Fallow,   Saskatchewan.     Grami 
Trunk  Pacific  Railway 110 


X  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Berg  Lake,  British  Columbia.  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway  120 
Mount  Robson,  altitude  13,700  feet.     Grand  Trunk  Pacific 

Railway 128 

From    Echo    Rock,  Lake    Cecebe.    Grand    Trunk    Railway 

System 140 

Fishing     Camp,     Northern     Quebec     Province.    Canadian 

Pacific  Railway 146 

SpeckJed  Trout  Fishing,  Algonquin  National  Park.     Grand 

Trunk  Railway  System 146 

Prince    Rupert,    British   Columbia.     Grafid  Trunk    Pacific 

Railway 150 

Fossil  Hunting,    Mt.    Robson    District,    British    Columbia. 

Grajid  Trunk  Pacific  Railway 158 

Transport,  Athabaska  River,  56    40'  N 160 

Transport,  Athabaska  River 160 

Typical      Saskatchewan       Valley      Homestead.     Canadian 

Northern  Railway 166 

Portage  La  Loche,  Peace  River  Country,  Athabaska  .    .    .    .194 

Potato  Crop,  Lake  La  Loche,  56    30'  N 194 

Hudson  Bay  Post,  Lake  Athabaska,  59    N 224 

Clearwater  River,  Athabaska  River,  57    N 224 

Reaping  Oats,  Western  Canada.  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  .  228 
Waterfront    Terminals,    Port    Arthur,    Ontario.     Canadian 

Northern  Railway 240 

Ploughing  at  Fort  Smith,  60    N 250 

Smith  Landing,  Great  Slave  River,  60    N 250 

Empress  Hotel  and  Plarbour,  Victoria,   Vancouver  Island, 

British  Columbia.    Canadian  Pacific  Railway 26S 

On  Skeena   River,   British  Columbia.     Grand  Trunk  Pacific 

Railway 268 

Mt.  Stephen  and  Mt.  Stephen  House,  Field,  British  Columbia. 

Canadian  Pacific  Railway 270 

Emperor  Falls,  Grand  Fork  River,  British  Columbia.    Grand 

Trunk  Pacific  Railway 280 


THE    COMING    CANADA 


CHAPTER  I 
EARLY  HISTORY 

I  DO  not  intend  to  limit  myself  to  the  Canada  of 
which  most  people  think  when  they  hear  or  speak 
the  word.  That  narrow  use  of  the  name  generally 
includes  no  more  than  the  eastern  provinces,  Nova 
Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  etc.,  the  lower  St.  Lawrence 
basin,  and  a  strip  of  indefinite  width,  north  of  the  United 
States  boundary,  reaching  westward  to  the  province  of 
British  Columbia  and  the  Pacific  shores. 

The  Dominion  of  Canada,  to  my  mind,  includes  the 
whole  of  the  3,603,910  square  miles,  approximated,  from 
the  long  Atlantic  seaboard,  stretching  from  Cape  Chud- 
leigh,  at  the  extreme  northern  end  of  Labrador,  to  Cape 
Sable,  the  southernmost  end  of  Nova  Scotia,  to  the 
Alaskan  boundary,  and  from  the  United  States  frontier 
northward  far  into  Arctic  regions. 

I  shall,  probably,  include  the  island  of  Newfoundland 
in  my  consideration  of  the  early  history  of  the  Dominion, 
because  that  island  is  so  intimately  associated  with  the 
beginnings  of  European  effort  to  establish  colonies  in 
the  New  World.  It  is  true  that  Newfoundland  is  not 
a  part  of  the  Dominion,  and,  if  I  may  depend  upon  the 


2  THE     COMING     CANADA 

vehement  declarations  of  the  islanders  with  whom  I 
have  discussed  the  possibility  of  entering  the  Dominion, 
as  well  as  those  of  many  other  Canadians,  it  is  extremely 
unlikely  that  the  island  will  give  up  its  semi-independ- 
ence. 

In  this  broad  view  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  we 
must,  of  course,  think  of  the  bleak,  inhospitable  Labrador 
as  being  a  part  thereof,  and  its  earliest  history  antedates 
that  of  what  I  may,  just  for  convenience,  call  Canada 
proper.  Yet,  at  the  very  outset,  I  must  say  that  obser- 
vation and  investigation,  as  well  as  the  statements  of 
others,  justify  the  opinion  that  Labrador  may  erelong 
prove  to  be  not  altogether  the  abomination  of  desola- 
tion that  the  name  usually  connotes. 

The  historian  may  well  take  a  good  deal  of  comfort 
from  the  fact  that  recent  research  and  effort  have  tended 
to  increase  our  knowledge  of  what  the  brave,  indeed 
venturesome,  sailors  of  northwestern  Europe  did  several 
hundred  years  before  Christopher  Columbus  sailed  from 
Palos,  Spain,  on  the  3rd  of  August,  1492,  to  try  to  find  a 
direct  westward  route  to  the  Far  East.  Reference  to 
the  bibliography  at  the  end  of  this  volume  may  serve 
to  emphasise  what  I  have  just  written,  and  the  titles 
of  some  of  the  books  there  mentioned  may  prove  an 
incentive  to  learn  yet  more  of  these  earliest  precursors 
of  Columbus,  the  discoverer  of  the  New  World,  and  of 
Jacques  Cartier,  the  discoverer  of  Canada. 

It  has  long  been  admitted  by  historians  that  sailors 
from  the  north  of  Europe  crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
at  least  as  far  as  Iceland,  several  hundred  years  before 
the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century  of  our  era.     That 


EARLYHISTORY  3 

island  had,  of  course,  long  been  known  to  Europeans, 
even  when  the  Irish  Culdees,  those  primitive  and 
enthusiastic  monks,  made  their  way  across  the  sea  in 
the  sixth  or  seventh  century,  seeking  to  secure  abso- 
lute solitude  for  their  meditations.  If  those  monks 
carried  with  them  a  form  of  Christianity  untainted  by 
the  influence  of  the  Romish  schism,  the  purity  cannot 
have  persisted  very  long.  The  hope,  cherished  for  some 
time,  by  certain  Protestants  —  Presbyterians  especially 
—  that  in  Iceland  there  had  been  preserved  an  abso- 
lutely primitive  Christianity,  has  long  since  been  dis- 
pelled. Just  when  Rome  asserted  supremacy  in  those 
regions,  then  so  remote  from  European  centres,  is  not 
clear,  but  in  1492,  the  very  year  of  Columbus'  first 
voyage.  Pope  Alexander  VI  issued  a  Bull  *  appointing 
a  bishop  of  the  see  of  Gardar,  in  Greenland.  From 
about  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century,  Iceland  had 
two  bishops  and  doubtless  from  them  went  forth  the 
influence  into  Greenland.  But  inasmuch  as  the  entire 
population  of  the  island  now  belongs  to  the  Lutheran 
Church,  it  is  evident  that  shortly  after  the  Reformation 
the  Roman  Church  lost  its  hold  in  Iceland. 

From  Iceland  to  Greenland  is  such  a  short  span,  it 
is  inconceivable  that  those  hardy  Norsemen  did  not 

*  Bulla;  the  most  authoritative  ofl5cial  document  issued  by  the  pope 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  or  in  his  name.  It  is  usually  an  open 
letter  containing  some  decree,  order,  or  decision  relating  to  matters  of 
grace  or  justice.  It  derives  its  name  from  the  lead  seal  (Latin  bulla) 
appended  to  it  by  a  thread  or  band,  which  is  red  or  yellow  when  the 
bull  refers  to  matters  of  grace,  and  uncoloured  and  of  hemp  when  it 
refers  to  matters  of  justice.  On  one  side  of  the  seal  is  the  name  of  the 
pope  who  issues  the  bull,  and  on  the  other  are  the  heads  of  Saints  Paul 
and  Peter, 


4  THE     COMING     CANADA 

soon  cross  the  intervening  sea.  But  even  after  it  was 
discovered,  Greenland  was  for  a  long  time  supposed  to 
be  a  remarkable  extension  westward  of  the  continent 
of  Europe;  and  this  belief  was,  for  some  centuries, 
strengthened  rather  than  refuted  by  the  experience 
of  the  explorers  who,  in  the  early  years  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  reasoned  that  because  the  coast  trended  back- 
ward, that  is  towards  the  east,  from  Cape  Dan,  it  would 
eventually  join  the  European  mainland. 

Greenland  may  have  been  seen  by  the  Norwegian 
Gunnbjorn,  son  of  Ulf  Kraka,  very  early  in  the  tenth 
century;  at  least  he  is  alleged  to  have  declared  he  did 
so.  It  is  admitted  that  in  982  a.d.,  "Eric  the  Red 
{Eiriki  hinn  raudi  Thorvaldsson)  sailed  from  Iceland  to 
find  the  land  which  Gunnbjorn  had  seen,  and  he  spent 
three  years  on  its  southwestern  coasts  exploring  the 
country."  Eric  returned  to  Iceland  in  985,  and  there 
is  no  accepted  tradition  that  he  or  any  of  his  followers 
crossed  Davis  Straits;  but  from  what  we  know  of  the 
habits  of  the  Greenland  Eskimo,  it  is  not  unreasonable 
to  suppose  that  those  people  knew  of  the  land  to  the 
westward  and  told  Eric  about  it. 

But  his  son,  Leifr  Eriksson  (Leif  Ericsson  of  history) 
visited  the  Court  of  Norway  in  999,  when  King  Olaf 
Tryggvason  was  on  the  throne,  and  told  the  monarch 
about  the  new  land  in  the  far  west.  When  Leif  left 
Norway  the  king  commanded  him  to  proclaim  Chris- 
tianity in  Greenland;  the  name  having  been  chosen 
with  the  purpose  of  deceiving  people  into  believing  that 
the  new  country  was  an  attractive  place  for  colonists. 
It  was   on    this  outward   voyage   in    1000  a.d.,  when 


EARLYHISTORY  5 

bound  for  Greenland  direct,  without  touching  at  Ice- 
land, that  Leif's  ship  was  driven  out  of  her  course  by 
heavy  weather,  and  eventually  reached  the  continent 
of  North  America,  where  he  found  wheat  growing  wild, 
vines,  and  ''mosur"  (maple  ?)  trees.  To  this  yet  newer 
land  he  gave  the  name  "Vinland,"  ''Vineland,"  or 
^'Wineland  the  Good." 

It  is,  however,  to  the  account  of  Thorfinn  Karlsefni's 
(flourished  1002  to  1007)  expedition  and  his  attempt 
to  establish  a  colony  somewhere  in  the  region  of  Nova 
Scotia,  that  we  must  turn  for  the  most  plausible  story 
of  these  early  Norse  discoverers.  This  twentieth  century 
has  added  considerably  to  the  literature  that  deals  with 
the  subject  of  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red,  and  that  known 
as  The  Flatey  Book.  The  former  is  the  more  consistent 
of  the  two,  and  may  now  be  read  in  an  English  transla- 
tion, accompanied  by  copious  notes.  These  sagas  are 
supplemented,  and  their  history  measurably  verified, 
by  the  narrative  of  Adam  of  Bremen,  a  student  of  history, 
who  ''visited  the  Danish  Court  during  the  reign  of  the 
well-informed  monarch  Svend  Estridsson  (1047  to  1076) 
and  writes  that  the  king  '  spoke  of  an  island  (or  country) 
in  that  ocean  discovered  by  many,  which  is  called 
Vinland,  because  of  the  wild  grapes  i^oites)  that  grow 
there,  out  of  which  a  very  good  wine  can  be  made. 
Moreover,  that  grain  unsown  grows  there  abundantly 
(fruges  ibi  non  seminatas  abundare)  is  not  a  fabulous 
fancy,  but  is  based  on  trustworthy  accounts  of  the 
Danes.'"  *  This  passage  offers  important  corroboration 
of  the  Icelandic  accounts  of  the  Vinland  voyages,  and 

♦  J.  E.  Olson,  Enc.  Brit.  Xlth,  ed. 


6  THE     COMING    CANADA 

is,  further,  interesting ''as  the  only  undoubted  refer- 
ence to  Vinland  in  a  mediaeval  book  written  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  Scandina\qan  world."  * 

It  is  contended  by  some  writers  that  these  Norse 
discoveries  exerted  no  real  influence  upon  European 
knowledge  of  the  world's  geography  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  that  undoubtedly  is  a  fact.  It  is  declared 
that  whatever  information  there  was  about  new  lands 
in  the  remote  west  (from  Europe)  was  hidden  away  in 
sagas  which  very  recent  research  has  brought  to  light, 
translated,  and  edited  so  that  we  of  the  twentieth 
century  possess  knowledge  which  was  not  imparted  to 
many  Europeans  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries. 
This,  too,  is  quite  correct;  but  if  Adam  of  Bremen, 
''beyond  the  limits  of  the  Scandinavian  world,"  knew 
of  Vinland,  there  was  no  substantial  reason  why  others 
should  not  have  had  the  same  knowledge. 

The  suspicion  is  growing  unto  something  approxi- 
mating conviction  that  the  famous  navigators  of  the 
south  of  Europe  ignored  the  efforts  of  the  Norsemen, 
and  persistently  held  that  the  Western  Ocean  washed 
the  shores  of  Asia  and  that  it  was  a  determination  to 
demonstrate  the  correctness  of  that  opinion,  thus  refuting 
the  Norsemen,  which  influenced  them.  I  am  not  dis- 
posed to  belittle  in  any  way  the  grand  achievement  of 
Christopher  Columbus,  nor  would  I  detract  at  all  from 
the  credit  due  to  Giovanni  Cabot;  but  I  do  think  that 
had  the  exploits  of  Leif  Ericsson  and  Thorfinn  Karlesfni 
been  given  the  publicity  in  Europe  that  they  deserved, 
both  the  Italians,  who  have  been  named,  would  have 
*  John  Fiske,  The  Discovery  of  America. 


Boat  Landing,  TiIte  Jaune  Cache,  Frasek  Ri\er,  B.  C 


Laving  Rails,  Tete  Jal  ne,  B.  C,  J 


LEV    17,    igi2 


EARLYHISTORY  7 

been  in  possession  of  information  that  would  have 
assisted  them  materially.  I  do,  however,  take  the 
responsibility  of  contradicting  Mr.  H.  P.  Biggar's  state- 
ment, ''The  European  explorer  who  at  the  close  of  the 
fifteenth  century  first  sighted  that  portion  of  North 
America  subsequently  called  Canada,  was  Giovanni 
Cabot,  of  Genoa."  * 

It  may  be  objected  that  I  am  trying  to  judge  Europeans 
of  the  fifteenth  century  from  the  standpoint  of  one  who 
has  all  the  advantage  conferred  by  the  knowledge  gained 
in  the  whole  of  the  intervening  four  hundred  years. 
This  I  disclaim,  although  —  as  a  matter  of  fact  —  I 
do  not  see  how  we  to-day  can  have  any  real  information 
about  the  earliest  visitors  from  Europe  to  our  North 
American  shores,  which  might  not  have  been  secured 
by  the  European  who  would  take  the  trouble  to  get  it. 
We  must  remember,  however,  that  towards  the  end  of 
the  fifteenth  century  all  of  southwestern  Europe,  includ- 
ing England,  was  keyed  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
excitement  concerning  geographical  discoveries,  and 
especially  over-seas  exploits,  while  there  was  strange 
apathy  as  to  this  subject  when  the  Norsemen  sailed 
across  the  Atlantic.  Conditions  were  exactly  reversed 
from  what  they  had  been  about  the  year  looo  a.d.  It 
was  then  northwestern  Europe  that  was  interested, 
while  England,  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Italy  were 
indifferent.  These  states  of  affairs  would  tend  to  make 
the  Norsemen's  discoveries  pass  almost  unnoticed; 
while  they  assured  for  Columbus'  and  Cabot's  the 
utmost  enthusiasm  and  publicity. 

*  The  Precursors  of  Jacques  Cartier,  Ottawa,  ign. 


8  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Is  it,  furthermore,  absolutely  certain  that  those 
earliest  Norse  adventurers  left  no  traces  of  their  visits 
to  North  America?  In  1908,  Dr.  Vilhjalmar  Stefansson, 
of  Norwegian  ancestry  although  a  Canadian  by  birth, 
and  educated  at  Harvard,  went  down  the  Mackenzie 
River  to  its  mouth;  thence  into  Victoria  Land,  along 
both  shores  of  Dolphin  and  Union  Straits  and  Corona- 
tion Gulf,  well  to  the  eastward.  In  Victoria  Land, 
almost  the  most  inaccessible  part  of  the  Arctic  Dominion, 
he  found  a  previously  unknown  band  of  about  two 
thousand  blonde  Eskimos;  many  of  them  have  blue 
eyes,  light  eyebrows,  and  the  men  sandy  beards.  Their 
whole  appearance  differentiates  them  distinctly  from 
the  typical  Eskimo.  Their  presence  in  that  remote 
region  —  for  it  is  alleged  that  their  existence  was  not 
even  suspected  by  the  Dominion  authorities  —  may  be 
accounted  for  in  several  ways.  Dr.  Stefansson's  own 
opinion  is  that  they  are  descendants  of  the  lost  Scandi- 
navian colonists  who  had  settled  in  Greenland  about 
the  year  1000  a.d.  He  admits  the  possibility  that  these 
people  may  owe  their  being  to  the  visits  of  whalers  and 
sailors  to  the  Greenland  coast  in  modern  times;  but  he 
discredits  this  theory  because  *'in  the  summer  time,  when 
vessels  were  enabled  to  reach  these  regions,  the  Eskimos 
had  pushed  farther  inland."  Another  cogent  reason  for 
giving  these  people  a  beginning  far  back  of  recent  times, 
is  the  fact  that  they  show  no  traces  of  European  influ- 
ence, either  physical  (that  is,  disease,)  or  mental  (that 
is,  language).  The  former  of  these  is,  unhappily,  the 
most  conspicuous  evidence  of  foreign  association  wliich 
ethnologists  now  find  among  uncivilised  peoples. 


EARLYHISTORY  9 

We  must  respect  the  recognised  histories  of  Europe 
and  admit  that  nothing  was  done  towards  western 
exploration  for  nearly  five  hundred  years  after  the 
Norsemen  had  found  Greenland  and  Vineland.  If  the 
curtain  was  raised  for  a  moment,  it  was  allowed  to  fall 
again  so  promptly  and  so  effectually  that  the  good  lands 
were  so  completely  forgotten  as  to  make  it  seem  as  if 
they  had  never  been  known. 

The  incentives  to  go  out  into  the  Western  Ocean 
appear  to  have  been  the  same  with  several  would-be 
explorers,  and  it  was  a  desire  to  secure  a  share  of  the 
rich  trade  with  the  Indies  that  seemed  likely  to  be  held 
as  a  monopoly  by  the  Portuguese,  now  that  they  had 
succeeded  in  finding  a  sea-road  to  the  Far  East. 

Before  passing  on  to  the  facts  accepted  by  historians 
of  the  discovery  and  occupation  of  Canada,  it  will  be 
interesting  to  discuss  briefly  the  efforts  which  were  made 
prior  to  1492  to  discover  something  in  the  Atlantic 
which  myth  and  legend  declared  to  be  there.  In  1480 
an  expedition  was  sent  from  Bristol,  England,  to  dis- 
cover, if  possible,  the  Island  of  Brazil,  or  the  Island  of 
the  Seven  Cities,  or  Antilia  (Atlantis).  Again,  in  1491 
and  1492,  vessels  were  sent  from  that  same  port  for  the 
same  purpose.  This  last  mentioned  expedition,  there 
is  good  reason  to  believe,  was  placed  under  the  command 
of  John  Cabot.  It  gave  him  his  English  name.  That 
nothing  came  of  these  efforts  need  not  be  stated;  but 
they  indicate  clearly  the  opinion  which  prevailed  in 
Europe  in  the  fifteenth  century  as  to  there  being  some 
wonderful  islands  in  the  ocean  far  away  from  the  main- 
land.    So  firm  was  this  conviction  that  it  was  not  until 


lO  THE    COMING    CANADA 

1876  that  ''the  official  sepulture  of  the  old  tradition  of 
the  Island  of  Brazil  took  place." 

Returning  to  history,  we  find  that  in  March,  1476, 
Giovanni  Cabot  was  given  the  privilege  of  citizenship 
(we  should  call  it  ''naturalised"),  both  internal  and 
external,  by  the  City  of  Venice,  after  fifteen  years  resi- 
dence. Inasmuch  as  the  same  privilege  was  granted  his 
sons,  the  brothers  Giovanni,  Sebastiano,  and  Stephano, 
on  the  28th  of  September,  1484,  only  six  years  later, 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  father  Giovanni  was 
born  some  years  before  Christopher  Columbus,  whose 
birth  year  is  usually  accepted  as  having  been  1446 
(although  we  do  not  know  this). 

Both  Columbus  and  Cabot  were  firm  believers  in  the 
theory  that  the  earth  is  round.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  this  idea  was  not  then  endorsed  by  all  navigators 
and  cartographers:  the  religious  danger  of  insisting 
upon  it  will  also  be  known  to  all.  Those  two  men  were 
equally  convinced  that  the  rich  merchandise  and  the 
coveted  gems  of  the  farther  Indies,  might  be  brought 
to  western  Europe  in  vessels  crossing  the  Western  Ocean 
direct  from  Asia. 

Cabot's  conviction  was  based  upon  something  more 
practical  than  Columbus'  speculations.  In  a  letter 
which  Raimondo  di  Soncino  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  Milan, 
1 8th  December,  1497,*  there  is  given  a  brief  account  of 
Cabot's  reasons  for  his  belief.  He  claimed  to  have 
visited  Mecca,  ''which  city  was  then  the  greatest  mart 
in  the  world  for  the  exchange  of  goods  of  the  west  for 

*  Original  in  the  Reali  Archivi  di  Stato,  Milan.  Translation  in  H.  P. 
Biggar's  Tlie  Precursors  of  Jacques  Car  tier. 


EARLYHISTORY  II 

those  of  the  east."  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  Cabot 
did  make  several  trading  voyages  to  the  Levant,  and  that 
he  inquired  whence  came  those  precious  wares.  He 
was  told  that  they  were  brought  by  caravans  from  north- 
eastern Asia.  Arguing  that  this  meant  Cipangu  (Japan), 
he  wished  to  make  the  attempt  to  reach  that  country 
by  sailing  westward  from  a  port  of  Europe. 

The  same  reasons  were  assigned  by  Columbus  for  his 
desire  to  sail  to  the  west,  and  with  precisely  the  same 
results  so  far  as  reaching  Japan  was  concerned ;  although 
the  Indies  which  Columbus  discovered  served  better 
to  satisfy  the  preconceived  notions  of  Cipangu,  than  did 
anything  which  Cabot  found  in  the  bleak  north. 

Columbus'  return  in  1493  ^-nd  his  report  that  he  had 
reached  the  Indies,  created  a  great  sensation  at  the 
English  Court,  and  on  the  5th  of  March,  1496,  letters 
patent  were  issued  by  Henry  VII  granting  to  John  Cabot, 
Lewis  (the  first  son,  otherwise  known  as  Giovanni  2d), 
Sebastian,  and  Santino,  his  sons,  authority  to  sail  "to 
all  parts,  countries,  and  seas  of  the  East,  of  the  West, 
and  of  the  North,  under  our  banners  and  ensynes," 
but  "upon  theyr  own  proper  costs  and  charges."  They 
were  to  take  possession  of  all  newly  found  lands  in  the 
king's  name,  and  "as  often  as  they  shall  arrive  at  our 
port  of  Bristol,  at  the  which  port  only  they  shall  be 
holden  to  arrive,"  they  were  to  pay  unto  the  king,  after 
deduction  of  their  necessary  expenses,  "the  fifth  part  of 
the  gain  of  all  fruits,  profits,  gaines  and  revenues  accruing 
from  said  voyage."  Comment  upon  the  Uberality  (?) 
of  this  concession  is  unnecessary. 
.   Columbus  having  returned  in  June,   1496,  from  his 


12  THE     COMING     CANADA 

second  voyage  with  much  gold  and  valuable  merchan- 
dise, the  English  king  and  the  merchants  who  financed 
the  enterprise,  were  hopeful  that  Cabot  would  meet  with 
like  success.  On  the  2nd  of  May,  1497,  Cabot  sailed 
from  Bristol  in  a  small  vessel,  the  Mathew,  with  eighteen 
men  in  his  company.  Much  controversy  has  been  had 
as  to  the  time  and  place  of  Cabot's  landfall;  but  I  think 
the  Rt.  Rev.  M.  F.  Howley,  Bishop  of  Newfoundland, 
has  satisfactorily  demonstrated  that  it  was  June  24th, 
1497,  and  that  —  after  sighting  Cape  Farewell,  Green- 
land—  he  steered  westward  (as  he  thought),  but  be- 
cause of  the  remarkable  variation  of  the  compass  needle, 
being  then  66 f°  West,  and  of  the  set  of  the  ocean  cur- 
rent, he  actually  took  the  true  course  from  Cape  Fare- 
well to  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  although  he  supposed 
he  was  saiHng  due  west.  This  statement  directly  con- 
tradicts Mr.  Biggar,  who  thinks  the  landfall  was  Cape 
Breton,  but  I  must  give  my  allegiance  to  the  Bishop. 

Cabot  was  convinced  that  he  had  reached  the  north- 
eastern extremity  of  Asia,  but  conditions  disappointed 
him  greatly.  He  cruised  to  the  southward  and  a  little 
to  the  westward  along  the  southern  coast  of  Newfound- 
land. From  Cape  Race  he  shaped  his  course  for  Eng- 
land, arriving  in  Bristol  harbour  on  Sunday,  August 
6th,  1497.  His  enthusiasm  led  him  to  promise  that  on 
his  next  voyage  he  would  reach  Cipangu,  and  then 
**  London  would  become  a  greater  depot  for  species  than 
Alexandria  itself." 

In  May,  1498,  the  second  expedition,  two  vessels  and 
three  hundred  men,  sailed  from  Bristol.  In  their  com- 
pany were  several  vessels  that  were  engaged  regularly 


EARLY    HISTORY  I3 

in  the  Iceland  trade,  fishing  smacks  probably.  With 
Cabot  was  a  Portuguese,  Joao  Fernandez,  called  Llav- 
rador,  who  had  been  from  Iceland  to  Greenland  in  1492. 
Early  in  June  the  east  coast  of  Greenland  was  sighted, 
and  inasmuch  as  Fernandez  was  the  first  to  report  the 
landfall,  Cabot  named  the  country  ''The  Labrador's 
Land."  The  ships  first  cruised  to  the  northward,  but 
the  increasing  cold,  the  ice,  and  the  fact  that  the  land 
bore  ofT  to  the  eastward,  discouraged  Cabot  and  he 
turned  westward  again. 

After  rounding  Cape  Farewell,  he  went  up  the  west 
coast  of  Greenland  to  the  Sukkertoppen  district,  in 
latitude  66°,  and  was  again  blocked  by  the  ice.  Altering 
his  course  once  more,  he  sighted  Bafhn's  Land,  passed 
into  Hudson's  Straits,  and  then  turned  back  and  went 
along  the  coast  of  modern  Labrador.  The  Strait  of 
Belle  Isle,  between  Labrador  and  Newfoundland,  was 
assumed  to  be  a  bay,  and  the  east  coast  of  Newfound- 
land merely  a  prolongation  of  the  Labrador  coast.  Some 
parts  of  the  country  that  had  been  seen  on  the  first 
voyage,  were  revisited;  but  the  disappointment,  at 
finding  no  evidence  of  the  Wealth  of  Ind,  was  even  greater 
than  it  had  been  before,  although  the  expedition  went 
as  far  south  as  38°,  nearly  opposite  the  Capes  of  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  Thence  the  course  was  shaped  for  home, 
and  the  reception  accorded  the  explorers  on  their  arrival 
at  Bristol  was  nearly  as  frigid  as  the  Greenland  icebergs. 
The  English  king  and  merchants  were  disgusted  with 
American  exploration,  and  no  further  expeditions  were 
sent  from  Bristol  until  1501,  and  that  was  not  led  by 
the  Cabots. 


14  THE     COMING     CANADA 

The  Portuguese  enterprise  in  1500,  under  the  command 
of  Caspar  Corte  Reale,  achieved  practically  nothing 
new,  and  about  the  only  evidence  remaining  of  it  are 
some  geographical  names.  We  may,  too,  pass  by  the 
Bristol  venture  of  1501,  since  it  accomplished  nothing 
beyond  \dsiting  Newfoundland.  In  151 1,  Spain  entered 
the  list  of  those  seeking  advantage  in  these  northern 
parts  of  the  North  American  continent,  and  during  the 
next  decade  many  European  fishing  vessels  made  yearly 
voyages  to  the  Newfoundland  Banks. 

In  1520,  a  Portuguese,  Joao  Alvares  Fagundes,  of 
Vianna  (probably  Vianna  do  Castillo  in  the  province  of 
Entre-Minho  Eduardo)  explored  the  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia  as  well  as  Placentia  Bay,  Newfoundland.  He 
missed  the  chance  to  identify  the  Culf  of  St.  Lawrence 
and  perhaps  discover  the  river.  King  Manoel  gave 
Fagundes  title  to  the  islands  from  Chedabucto  to  Pla- 
centia bays;  a  grant  that  was  simply  productive  of 
needless  compHcation.  In  1524-5,  the  Portuguese, 
Stephen  Comez,  although  in  command  of  a  Spanish 
vessel,  applied  to  the  Spanish  Court  for  permission  to 
seek,  between  Newfoundland  and  Florida,  for  a  passage 
to  the  East  Indies.  He  explored  the  coast  as  far  south 
as  the  island  of  Nantucket,  at  least,  and  then  went 
south  to  Santiago  in  Cuba,  where  he  replenished  his 
stores  and  then  sailed  for  Corunna,  reaching  that  port 
in  June  1525. 

In  1527,  two  vessels,  the  Samson  and  the  Mary  Guild- 
ford, fitted  out  at  London  to  try  to  find  a  northwest 
passage  to  the  Far  East  by  way  of  Davis  Straits.  The 
former  ship  probably  foundered  with  all  on  board,  since 


EARLYHISTORY  15 

nothing  was  ever  heard  of  her.  The  latter  did  nothing 
to  add  to  our  fund  of  information,  and  when  she  returned 
to  England  is  not  known.  From  1527  until  Jacques 
Cartier  began  his  explorations  in  1534,  fishing  vessels 
visited  the  coasts  of  Canada,  Newfoundland,  and  Green- 
land annually;  but  there  are  no  authentic  records  of 
further  attempts  to  find  a  northwest  passage  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  until  Cartier's  effort.  Although 
unsuccessful  in  his  prime  desire,  yet  he  was  really  the 
first  European  to  discover  the  territory  which  was  the 
nucleus  of  the  great  Dominion. 

In  1534,  Jacques  Cartier  (sometimes  written  Quartier), 
an  experienced  navigator  of  St.  Malo,  France,  was 
recommended  to  Francis  I,  King  of  France,  as  being 
competent  to  secure  for  his  sovereign  some  advantage 
from  the  effort  of  his  predecessor,  Verrazzano.  I  have 
omitted  previous  mention  of  this  man,  because  on  his 
expedition  of  1524,  for  Francis  I,  he  discovered  nothing. 
He  *' approached  to  the  lande  that  in  times  past  was 
discovered  by  the  Britons,"  and  after  *' being  furnished 
with  water  and  wood,"  he  sailed  away  to  Dieppe.  Later, 
when  pilot  of  the  Mary  Guildford,  he  was  killed  in  a 
fight  with  some  Indians. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  1534,  Cartier's  two  small  vessels, 
the  combined  crews  numbering  some  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  sailed  from  St.  Malo.  Little  was  accom- 
plished on  that  first  voyage.  In  the  second,  which 
sailed  from  the  same  port  on  the  19th  of  May,  1535, 
there  were  three  ships,  one  hundred  and  ten  sailors  and 
a  number  of  *' gentlemen  volunteers."  The  great  river, 
St.  Lawrence,  was  discovered  and  ascended  to  Hoche- 


l6  THE     COMING     CANADA 

laga;  that  is,  modern  Montreal.  To  the  hill  from  which 
he  had  a  grand  view  that  assured  him  of  the  rich  possi- 
bihties  of  the  surrounding  country,  he  gave  the  name  of 
Mont  Royal,  around  which  has  grown  up  the  city  of 
Montreal,  one  of  the  world's  great  ports.  Limitations 
of  space  forbid  carrying  on  the  historical  record,  and 
already  we  have  reached  the  time  when  Canada  began. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Indian  word  Canada 
meant  simply  a  village.  That  it  has  developed  into  an 
Empire,  almost,  is  one  of  the  astounding  facts  of  history. 


CHAPTER  II 
COLONISATION  —  TEE  FOLKLORE  OF  CA  NADA 

ON  May  23,  1541,  Cartier  sailed  again  from  St. 
Malo  upon  his  third  voyage  to  Canada.  He  had 
been  commissioned  Captain-General,  and  the  phrase- 
ology of  his  appointment  indicates  the  French  King's 
appreciation  of  the  discoverer's  merits,  for  tribute  is 
paid  to  ''the  character,  judgment,  ability,  loyalty, 
dignity,  hardihood,  great  diligence,  and  experience  of 
the  said  Jacques  Cartier."  While,  as  his  title  implies, 
the  actual  navigation  of  the  fleet  was  entrusted  to 
Cartier,  yet  the  chief  command  of  the  expedition  was 
given  to  Jean-Francois  de  la  Roque,  superior  of  Roberval, 
who  by  a  royal  commission  dated  January  15,  1540,  was 
appointed  Viceroy  and  Lieutenant- General  of  Newfound- 
land, Labrador,  and  Canada.  He  was  empowered  to 
engage  volunteers  and  emigrants,  and  if  these  did  not 
come  forward  in  sufficient  numbers,  he  might  take 
persons  from  the  prisons  and  hulks. 

Roberval  could  not  complete  his  arrangements  in 
time  to  satisfy  Cartier's  impatience,  who  sailed  without 
his  superior  officer.  When  the  two  met  in  the  harbour 
of  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  the  Captain-General 
homeward  bound  after  a  very  trying  winter  for  which 
he  held  the  other  responsible,  and  the  Lieutenant- 
General  outward  bound  to  take  up  his  work,  Cartier 


l8  THE     COMING     CANADA 

deliberately  disobeyed  the  order  of  his  superior  to  return 
with  him  to  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Thus  it  seems  that  about  sLx  years  after  the  French 
had  formally  taken  possession  of  Canada,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  colonise  this  New  France.  It  was  a  failure, 
however,  as  were  others  until  the  time  of  Samuel  de 
Champlain  who  made  his  first  voyage  to  the  St.  Lawrence 
in  1603.  In  1604,  Pierre  du  Gua,  Sieur  de  Monts,  sailed 
from  France  with  four  vessels,  well  manned  and  supplied 
with  whatever  was  required,  both  for  carrying  on  the 
fur  trade  and  for  starting  a  colony.  Two  ''were  destined 
to  commence  the  traffic  for  the  company  in  peltry 
at  Tadousac;  thence  proceeding  to  range  the  whole 
seaboard  of  New  France,  and  seize  all  vessels  found  traf- 
ficking with  the  natives,  in  violation  of  the  royal  pro- 
hibition. The  two  other  vessels  were  destined  to  bear 
the  colonists  embarked  to  such  landing-places  as  should 
be  agreed  upon,  and  to  aid  in  suitably  locating  them 
afterwards.  Several  gentlemen  volunteers,  some  soldiers, 
and  a  number  of  skilled  artisans,  were  embarked  in  these 
vessels."  * 

De  Monts  was  a  Huguenot,  and  it  was  ordered  that 
all  French  Protestants  were  to  enjoy  in  America,  as  in 
France  at  that  time,  full  freedom  for  their  public 
worship.  It  was  distinctly  asserted,  however,  that  they 
should  take  no  part  in  native  proselytising;  the  privi- 
lege and  duty  of  converting  the  Indians  being  reserved 
exclusively  for  the  Roman  Cathohc  clergy. 

Under  De  Monts,  who  had  been  appointed  Lieutenant- 
Governor  by  King  Henry  IV,  were  de  Champlain,  Pont- 

*  History  of  Canada,  Andrew  Bell,  Vol.  I,  p.  74- 


THE     FOLKLORE     OF     CANADA  19 

Grave  (a  mercenary  wretch),  Poutrincourt,  a  nobleman 
who  had  decided  to  take  his  family  and  settle  in  America, 
and  a  lawyer  who  was  subsequently  to  become  a  cele- 
brated historian,  Lescarbot.  This  expedition  did  not 
go  direct  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  or  Canada  proper,  but  to 
that  part  of  New  France  then  called  Acadia  (Nova 
Scotia).  Even  this  beginning  did  not  develop  into  a 
colony  without  undergoing  many  discouraging  vicissi- 
tudes, and  later  attention  was  almost  concentrated  in 
the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  so  far  as  Canada  was  concerned,  the  French  did 
not  display  great  ability  in  colonisation;  for  on  the  loth 
of  February,  1763,  when  by  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of 
Paris,  all  French  possessions  in  North  America,  east  of 
the  Mississippi  were  transferred  to  Great  Britain,  the 
navigation  of  the  river  being  thrown  open  to  the  subjects 
of  both  Powers  (the  city  of  New  Orleans  was  excepted), 
the  total  population  of  New  France  did  not  much  exceed 
80,000  souls,  and  even  this  estimate  is  declared  by  some 
authorities  to  be  over  liberal.  When  from  that  number 
are  subtracted  those  representing  the  civilian  officials 
and  their  families,  the  members  of  the  rehgious  orders, 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  the  many 
others  who  cannot  be  classed  as  immigrant  settlers,  the 
number  of  actual  colonists  is  reduced  to  insignificant 
proportions. 

These  French  settlers,  habitants  they  call  themselves, 
brought  from  their  European  homes  the  folklore  tales, 
songs,  legends,  etc.,  of  their  native  places.  While  these 
have,  naturally,  undergone  some  modification,  they 
even  now  betray  distinct  signs  of  their  origin,  so  that 


20  THE     COMING     CANADA 

as  Dr.  Benjamin  Suite  says,  when  a  person  listens 
attentively  to  the  stories  told  at  the  hearth  of  the 
habitant's  home,  he  can  quickly  determine  from  what 
part  of  Old  France  the  ancestors  of  that  particular  farm 
or  hamlet  came,  centuries  ago. 

As  a  consequence,  therefore,  none  of  the  French  Cana- 
dian folklore  gives  any  suggestion  of  originality  or 
spontaneity.  It  is  all  exotic;  but  it  has  frequently 
been  given  a  touch  of  local  colouring  which  may  readily 
deceive  the  uninitiated  into  assuming  that  the  stories 
are  indigenous.  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  that  in  the 
different  districts  of  the  province  of  Quebec,  where  the 
direct  descendants  of  the  original  French  colonists  are 
more  numerous  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  Dominion, 
there  are  variations  of  the  story  of  Le  Loup  Garoux,  that 
French  tale  which  either  owes  its  being  to  the  influence 
of  the  old  Norse  legend  of  ''The  Were  Wolf,"  or  which 
had  its  origin  in  the  same  primary  source. 

Conditions  of  life  in  the  earliest  days  of  New  France 
were  just  such  as  would  tend  to  make  the  unlettered 
peasants  find  in  their  surroundings  everything  needed 
to  bring  up  the  machinations  of  a  fiendish  Indian  to  take 
upon  himself  the  shape  of  the  Were  Wolf  and  bring 
terror  to  themselves.  There  was  the  snow  of  winter; 
there  was  the  mysterious  death  of  someone  who  ventured 
into  the  forest;  there  were  the  bloody  tracks  of  the  wolf; 
and  there  were  the  prints  of  other,  human,  footsteps. 
Perhaps,  too,  even  one  of  their  own  people  might  have 
committed  some  crime  that,  until  expiated  and  absolved 
by  the  priest,  would  condemn  the  unfortunate  person 
to  carry  out  all  the  horrible  details  of  the  dreadful 


THE     FOLKLORE     OF     CANADA  21 

story.  It  is,  perhaps,  a  little  too  much  for  one  who  has 
not  had  the  opportunity  for  thorough  study,  to  say  that 
the  preponderance  of  the  weird  and  alarming  in  the 
French  Canadian  folklore  is  noticeable;  yet  such  has 
seemed  to  me  to  be  the  case. 

I  have  never  known  people  who  are  seemingly  so  con- 
tradictory as  the  Canadian  habitants.  They  are  friendly, 
polite,  hospitable,  and  industrious  of  course.  They  give 
a  welcome  to  any  stranger  who  can  converse  with  them 
in  the  language  they  still  love,  even  though  they  are 
loyal  British  subjects;  and  rarely  have  I  found  any  of 
them  who  have  the  slightest  desire  to  return  to  French 
allegiance.  Upon  the  possibility  of  transfer  to  citizen- 
ship in  the  United  States,  they  look  with  scorn  and  horror. 
But  he  who  wishes  to  get  them  to  talk  about  themselves, 
their  myths,  and  their  interesting  folklore,  must  prove 
himself  to  be  a  Frenchman  or  a  very  exceptional  English- 
man, and  then  make  it  clear  that  his  sympathy  is  the 
sterling  article. 

If  the  folklore  of  the  Canadiens  is  rarely  anything 
more  than  the  transplanted  legends  of  northwestern 
France  —  Brittany  most  especially  —  there  are  some 
stories  which  these  people  still  tell  that  have  a  distinctly 
local  origin  and  colouring.  When  sailing  up  or  down  the 
St.  Lawrence  River  below  Quebec,  the  steamer  passes, 
about  thirty  miles  down  stream  from  the  old  city,  a 
group  of  islands,  most  of  them  small.  As  these  are  just 
about  the  middle  of  the  stream,  it  is  very  necessary  to 
navigate  cautiously  and  the  attention  of  the  pilot  is 
therefore  concentrated  upon  the  task  in  hand.  But 
when  he  has  a  few  minutes  leisure,  and  if  he  is  a  French- 


22  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Canadian  (as  is  very  likely  to  be  the   case),  he  will 
doubtless  tell  the  following  story. 

The  largest  one  of  the  group  of  islands  is  now  called 
Crane's  Island,  and  from  a  time  in  the  early  days  of 
New  France  until  not  so  very  long  ago,  there  was  a 
handsome  chateau  near  the  western  end  of  the  island. 
At  least  it  was,  no  doubt,  a  handsome  structure  when 
first  built;  but  after  the  episode,  upon  which  this  tale 
is  founded,  it  was  neglected  by  everybody  and  the  habi- 
tants looked  upon  it  as  haunted.  Therefore  they  shunned 
it,  and  as  there  was  no  one  to  care  for  it,  it  must  have 
gone  to  ruin  very  fast  so  that  there  is  now  no  sign  of  it. 

When  New  France  was  beginning  to  lose  some  of  its 
horrors,  and  had  gained  a  somewhat  better  reputation 
than  it  had  had  in  the  days  of  Jacques  Cartier  and  his 
immediate  successors,  the  attention  of  even  the  French 
nobility  was  sometimes  turned  towards  America.  One 
of  these  courtiers  was  a  young  nobleman  who  is  said  to 
have  been  very  handsome,  very  popular  at  Court,  and 
very  gay;  and  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries 
that  meant  a  good  deal  at  the  Court  of  France. 

This  gay  young  courtier  married  a  lady  of  good  family. 
She  was  his  equal  in  rank;  she  was  renowned  for  her 
great  beauty;  but  she  was  equally  famous  for  her 
imperious  disposition.  She  would  not  put  up  quietly 
with  the  pointed  and  open  attentions  that  her  husband 
showed  the  other  ladies  of  the  Court,  and  she  took  her 
lord  sharply  to  task  for  his  unseemly  behaviour.  He  met 
her  complaint  with  the  rather  startling  proposition  that 
they  leave  Old  France  and  settle  in  New  France,  where, 
he  said,  there  would  be  little  danger  of  anything  happen- 


THE     FOLKLORE     OF     CANADA  23 

ing  in  the  way  of  gallantry  to  arouse  the  jealousy  of 
either  one. 

To  his  surprise,  and  quite  likely  to  his  disappointment, 
the  lady  accepted  the  suggestion  and  they  soon  sailed 
for  Quebec.  As  they  passed  up  the  beautiful  St.  Law- 
rence, the  romantic  wildness  of  the  valley  fascinated 
the  lady,  and  she  chose  the  Isle  des  Grues,  only  a  short 
distance  below  the  much  larger  Isle  d' Orleans,  as  the 
place  for  their  future  home.  In  due  course  of  time  Le 
Chateau  le  Grand,  as  they  called  it,  was  finished  and  the 
couple  took  possession. 

For  several  years  the  idyllic  beauty  of  the  spot,  the 
novelty  of  the  Hfe,  and  the  occupation  of  conquering 
wild  Nature  seemed  to  satisfy  both  Monsieur  and 
Madame;  but  bye  and  bye  her  ladyship  came  to  note 
that  her  husband  was  frequently  absent  from  home  at 
night,  and  although  his  reasons  for  doing  so  appeared 
to  be  plausible,  Madame  was  not  satisfied  with  them, 
therefore  she  determined  to  find  out  something  for 
herself. 

One  evening  she  followed  him  to  the  southern  shore 
of  the  river  and  found  him  taking  part  in  an  Indian 
dance  accompanied  by  decidedly  Bacchanalian  revels, 
and  disporting  himself  in  an  altogether  unseemly  fashion 
with  an  Indian  beauty.  Madame  had  partly  disguised 
herself  with  a  long  cloak,  and  as  she  stepped  into  the 
circle  of  dancers,  the  Indians  thought  her  something 
uncanny  and  every  one  of  them  fled,  leaving  my  lord 
and  my  lady  facing  each  other  and  alone.  With  her 
characteristic  imperiousness,  but  without  speaking  a 
wordj  she  waved  her  hand  towards  the  river  bank  and 


24  THE     COMING     CANADA 

he  followed  her  to  the  boats.  They  returned  to  the 
chateau  where  Madame  exacted  from  her  lord  a  promise 
that  he  would  never  again  leave  the  island.  He  agreed, 
and  there  they  lived  for  the  few  years  that  remained  of 
the  man's  life.  But  the  place  was  no  longer  the  bower 
of  bliss  it  had  been  and  they  were  unhappy.  When 
the  husband  died,  the  widow  promptly  returned  to 
France  and  the  chateau  was  abandoned.  The  Indians 
looked  askance  upon  it,  and  their  prejudice  was  com- 
municated to  the  French  immigrants,  so  that  even  to 
this  day  Crane  Island  is  not  liked  so  well  as  the  neigh- 
bouring country.  Mothers  sometimes  quiet  fractious 
children  by  threatening  to  leave  them  at  the  end  of  the 
island  where  there  are  ghosts. 

Then,  still  farther  down  the  river,  indeed  now  well 
into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  there  is  another  spot 
about  which  les  habitants  tell  a  weird  story.  South  of 
Gaspe  Peninsula,  near  the  shore  of  the  bay  where  Jacques 
Cartier  planted  a  cross  in  1534  and  took  possession  of 
the  whole  country  in  the  name  of  the  Kjng  of  France, 
there  is  an  enormous  rock  called  Le  Roche  perce,  because 
the  breakers  have  bored  a  hole  through  it,  leaving  an 
arch  which  easily  suggests  the  name,  ''Pierced  Rock." 
It  is  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  or  more  high,  and 
between  live  hundred  and  six  hundred  feet  long.  The 
top  is  fairly  level  and  the  sides  are  very  steep,  almost 
perpendicular.  Of  itself,  the  rock  is  sufficient  to  attract 
attention,  and  it  lends  itself  readily  to  the  strange 
stories  that  are  told  about  it. 

One  of  these  is  that  among  the  members  of  one  of 
Cartier's  later  expeditions,  there  was  a  young  man  of 


"PlLKClJ)     KoCK,"     I  KOM     SniAMER 


Preparing  Fish,  Pierced  Rock,  N.  B. 


THE     FOLKLORE      OF     CANADA  2$ 

Brittany  who  was  engaged  to  a  maiden  at  home.  He 
did  not  care  to  take  her  with  him  when  he  first  went  to 
America;  but  upon  arriving  in  Canada  he  concluded 
that  it  was  quite  safe  for  her  to  join  him,  and  so  he 
wrote  for  her  to  come  to  Quebec. 

She  compHed  promptly;  but  the  vessel  on  which  she 
took  passage  was  captured  by  a  Spanish  pirate  and 
every  soul  on  board,  except  herself,  was  put  to  death. 
The  Spanish  captain  was  so  enamoured  with  her  beauty 
that  he  vowed  she  should  be  his  wife.  The  girl  refused 
to  listen  to  him,  and  then  the  brute  declared  he  would 
sail  up  the  St.  Lawrence  right  past  the  town  of  Quebec, 
and  there,  where  her  lover  could  see,  he  would  kill  her. 
This  fiendish  threat  so  affected  the  maiden's  mind  that, 
as  the  ship  came  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  she  threw 
herself  into  the  sea.  The  Spaniards  lowered  boats  and 
tried  to  save  her  but  she  had  disappeared  and  they  put 
the  ship  on  her  course. 

Presently,  however,  a  sailor  reported  to  the  skipper 
that  he  could  see  the  form  of  a  woman  swimming  ahead 
of  the  vessel  and  drawing  it  off  the  course  towards  a 
great  cliff.  All  effort  on  the  part  of  the  helmsman  to 
hold  the  ship  away  from  the  rocks  was  unavailing,  and 
in  spite  of  all  that  the  officers  and  crew  could  do,  the 
vessel  crashed  against  the  cliff  and  instantly  ship  and 
crew  were  all  changed  into  stone  and  became  a  part  of 
the  great  rock  itself. 

The  people  of  the  neighbourhood  will  tell  the  visitor 
that  until  not  very  many  years  ago  the  shape  of  the  ship 
could  be  distinctly  seen  on  the  face  of  the  cHff.  They 
still  declare  that  one  bit  of  rather  pointed  rock  is  the 


26  THE     COMING     CANADA 

bowsprit  of  the  vessel  of  that  Spanish  abductor  who, 
with  his  cowardly  crew,  was  so  justly  punished,  hundreds 
of  years  ago.  The  faithful  maiden's  ghost  is  declared 
to  haunt  the  spot;  yet  —  strange  as  it  must  sound  — 
this  wraith  is  not  thought  of  or  spoken  about  as  some- 
thing awful  by  the  habitants.  They  say  she  is  very 
beautiful,  but  sad,  of  course;  and  when  the  last  trace 
of  the  unlucky  ship  disappears,  the  ghost  will  be  seen 
no  more.  She  appears  at  sunset  only;  for  that  was  the 
time  of  day  when  she  threw  herself  into  the  sea.  The 
Gaspe  folks  declare  that  no  fisherman  would  dare  to 
set  a  line  for  fish  at  that  hour;  because  if  he  did  mis- 
fortune would  be  sure  to  follow. 

Of  the  folklore  of  Canadian  Indians  and  Eskimos, 
there  is  such  an  abundant  supply  in  English  translations 
at  the  command  of  my  readers,  that  I  shall  not  introduce 
any  here.  The  field  has  not  yet  been  exhausted,  how- 
ever, because  there  are  still  some  which  have  not  been 
put  into  English;  while  there  are  others  that  are  yet  in 
French  only.  As  acquaintance  is  made  with  Indians 
and  Eskimos  of  the  far  north,  who  have  not  hitherto 
been  visited  by  competent  observers,  we  shall  probably 
have  interesting  additions  made  to  our  stock  of  folklore. 
Those  who  desire  to  pursue  this  entertaining  subject, 
are  referred  to  the  bibhography,  wherein  they  will  find 
a  number  of  titles  of  books  which  will  fully  satisfy  them. 
So  far  as  purely  Indian  folklore  alone  is  concerned,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  there  is  much  mingling  of 
myths  and  legends  of  the  Indians  in  the  United  States 
with  those  of  the  Dominion. 


CHAPTER  III 
TEE  BEGINNING  OF  NEW  FRANCE 

FRANCIS  PARKMAN,  in  his  volume  Pioneers  of 
France  in  the  New  World,  devotes  ten  chapters 
to  the  European  explorations  into  the  southern  part  of 
the  continent  of  North  America,  and  especially  to  vari- 
ous sections  in  the  southern  portion  of  what  is  now  the 
United  States.  These  chapters  cover  the  period  from 
1512  to  1574  A.D. 

In  the  second  part  of  the  same  volume,  Parkman, 
taking  the  general  title  of  Cham  plain  and  His  Associates, 
discusses  traditional  French  discoveries  as  far  back  as 
1488,  and  continues  his  narrative  down  to  the  death  of 
Champlain  at  Quebec,  on  Christmas  Day,  1635. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  several  recent  Cana- 
dian historians  differ  somewhat  from  Parkman  as  to 
statement  of  facts;  and  some  of  these  take  issues  openly 
with  him  as  to  the  correctness  of  conclusions  drawn. 
These  Canadians  are  not  in  the  least  influenced  by 
patriotic  jealousy;  they  write  or  speak  with  the  more 
exact  knowledge  gained  from  superior  opportunity.  As 
a  concrete  example  of  this,  may  be  cited  the  credit  that 
Parkman  seems  to  give  to  Father  Marquette,  in  his 
volume  La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West.  All 
competent  authorities  with  whom  I  have  conversed  on 
this   subject,    Frenchmen   and   Englishmen,    Anghcans 


28  THE     COMING     CANADA 

and  Romanists,  are  vehement  in  denouncing  the  palpable 
effort  of  the  priest  to  magnify  his  own  importance  in 
the  expedition  which  Louis  Joliet  undertook,  in  1672-3, 
for  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  in  which 
he  was  successful.  Marquette  does  not  explicitly  claim 
anything;  but  he  is  thoroughly  Jesuitical  in  his  narra- 
tive, Voyages  et  decouverte  de  quelques  pays  et  nations  de 
VAmerique  Septentrionale,  and  makes  collaboration  con- 
spicuous. Whereas  the  fact  is  that  he  forced  himself 
upon  Joliet,  who  was  thoroughly  trained  for  his  enter- 
prise ;  while  Marquette  was  constantly  an  embarrassment 
and  impediment  to  the  real  explorer  and  discoverer.  To 
Joliet  and  to  him  alone  belongs  the  credit  of  having  dis- 
covered the  Mississippi.  The  claim  at  one  time  brought 
forward  in  La  Salle's  behalf  has  been  sufficiently  and 
finally  discredited. 

But  with  Parkman's  book  to  give  a  general  outHne 
and  many  interesting  particulars,  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  do  more  here  than  run  rapidly  over  the  list  of  those 
whose  names  are  conspicuous  among  the  pioneers  of 
France  in  trying  (most  of  them  unsuccessfully)  to  gain 
possession  of  the  great  territory  which  had  been  added 
to  French  dominions,  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River 
and  the  Great  Lakes.  Besides,  it  is  not  so  much  my 
purpose  to  discuss  further  the  scanty  successes  and  the 
greater  failures  of  the  French,  as  it  is  to  attempt  to  deal 
with  the  more  successful  efforts  of  the  British  to  create 
the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

Roberval,  the  first  to  give  what  was  apparently  any- 
thing but  serious  attention  to  the  scheme  of  colonising 
New  France,  had  a  string  of  grandiose  titles  conferred 


BEGINNING     OF     NEW     FRANCE  29 

upon  him,  and  he  was,  moreover,  aided  in  his  enterprise 
by  a  substantial  grant  from  the  royal  treasury  of  France. 
Yet,  looking  back  upon  the  record  of  his  acts,  it  is  now 
a  simple  matter  of  fact  to  say  that  his  efforts  resulted 
in  absolute  failure.  This  is  not  surprising,  for  Roberval 
manifestly  possessed  none  of  the  attributes  of  a  successful 
pioneer  and  coloniser  of  the  wild  region  which  Canada 
was  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century;  even  when 
we  restrict  that  name  to  the  shores  of  Nova  Scotia, 
Acadia,  and  the  narrow  fringes  along  the  St.  Lawrence 
River  hardly  reaching  beyond  Montreal. 

Roberval  was  totally  devoid  of  tact.  He  was  a  stern 
man  without  proper  control  of  his  temper,  as  is  clearly 
indicated  by  his  cruelty  to  his  own  niece,  Marguerite. 
This  young  woman,  to  be  sure,  had  passed  beyond  the 
bounds  of  decorum  in  her  love  for  a  gentleman  in  her 
uncle's  company.  This  was  a  grave  offence,  and  her 
punishment  was  to  be  marooned  on  the  dreaded  Island 
of  Demons  in  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle;  a  lonely  spot 
that  was  supposed  to  be  the  haunt  of  evil  spirits  and  wild 
beasts.  It  was  intended  to  leave  her  there  with  only 
an  old  nurse  who  had  lent  her  assistance  in  promoting 
the  illicit  intercourse  of  the  young  people.  Her  lover, 
however,  followed  her  by  swimming  to  the  island.  He 
died,  as  did  the  child  who  was  born,  and  the  old  nurse, 
leaving  Marguerite  alone.  After  an  experience  which 
is  horrible  in  the  narrative,  she  was  at  last  rescued  and 
returned  to  France. 

It  is  certain  that  Roberval's  effort  to  plant  a  colony 
at  Cape  Rouge,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
was   a   ghastly   failure;    whether   we   accept   Thevet's 


30  THE    COMING     CANADA 

account  in  his  Cosmographie  or  the  more  lenient  one  of 
others.  The  iron  hand  of  the  Viceroy  bore  so  heavily 
that  ''even  the  Indians  were  moved  to  pity,  and  they 
wept  at  the  sight  of  the  colonists'  woes."  The  King  of 
France,  Francis  I,  needing  the  services  of  Roberval, 
sent  Cartier  to  fetch  him  home  in  1543.  *'It  is  said  that, 
in  after  years,  the  Viceroy  essayed  to  re-possess  himself 
of  his  Transatlantic  domain,  and  lost  his  life  in  the 
attempt.  Thevet,  on  the  other  hand,  with  ample  means 
of  learning  the  truth,  affirms  that  Roberval  was  slain 
at  night,  near  the  Church  of  the  Innocents,  in  the  heart 
of  Paris."  * 

For  many  years  after  this  disastrous  failure,  nothing 
was  done  to  develop  New  France.  Then,  in  1598 
according  to  the  best  authorities,  Marquis  de  la  Roche 
made  a  bargain  with  the  King  of  France,  Henry  IV, 
by  which  he  covenanted  to  colonise  New  France  in 
return  for  a  grant  of  the  monopoly  of  trade.  As  usual, 
the  concession  from  the  king  was  accompanied  by  a 
profusion  of  worthless  titles  and  empty  privileges.  We 
may  gain  a  very  good  idea  of  what  was  likely  to  be  the 
result  of  La  Roche's  effort,  when  we  know  that  his 
colonists  were  a  gang  of  thieves,  murderers,  and  first- 
class  villains,  dragged  from  the  prisons  of  France  and 
left  on  Sable  Island,  off  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia.  Per- 
haps it  was  an  accident  that  La  Roche's  ship  and  his 
few  reputable  followers  were  driven  out  to  sea  and  clear 
across  the  Atlantic;  but  we  may  have  our  doubts.  The 
outcasts  were  rescued  in  September,  1603,  but  only 
eleven  survived. 

*  Parkman,  op.  cit. 


BEGINNING     OF     NEW     FRANCE         31 

The  expedition  of  Pontgrave  and  Chauvin  was  not 
a  serious  attempt  at  colonising:  it  was  simply  a  com- 
mercial venture.  A  company  of  sixteen  men  was  landed 
at  Tadousac,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay  River,  and 
left  there  with  the  expectation  that  they  would  accu- 
mulate a  large  number  of  furskins.  This  was  in  the 
autumn,  and  being  insufhciently  supplied  with  stores 
and  having  no  adequate  means  of  contending  with 
disease  —  the  scurvy  especially  —  a  number  of  them 
died  during  the  winter.  In  the  spring  all  the  rest  went 
into  the  forest  and  were  cared  for,  after  a  fashion,  by 
friendly  Indians. 

With  the  advent  of  Champlain  (in  Canada  1603  to 
1635),  whose  untiring  efforts  at  exploring,  surve>ang, 
and  sounding  were  the  beginning  of  Canadian  cartog- 
raphy, we  may  say  that  the  colonising  and  developing 
of  Canada  commenced.  It  was,  however,  a  very  feeble 
effort  as  compared  with  what  was  soon  to  be  done  by 
the  English  in  their  colonies  to  the  southward.  Indeed, 
there  runs  through  the  whole  of  the  history  of  the  French 
regime  in  Canada,  a  complaint  of  lack  of  well-directed 
colonising  effort  on  the  part  of  the  home  government; 
of  rapacity  by  civiHan  officials  in  New  France;  and  of 
seeming  inability  on  the  part  of  the  colonists  themselves 
to  adapt  themselves  to  new  and  strange  conditions  of 
life.  All  these  combined  to  retard  colonisation  and  to 
make  the  limited  success  more  conspicuous  by  contrast 
with  the  mammoth  failures,  than  because  of  their  own 
merit.  French  historians  do  not  hesitate  to  declare 
that  English  effort,  in  colonising  North  America,  was 
far  more  successful  than  that  of  their  own  countrymen; 


32  THE     COMING     CANADA 

and  this  not  alone  because  of  an  advantage  for  the 
former  m  situation  and  climate. 

Remembering  the  zeal  displayed  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  in  the  matter  of  religious  propaganda 
amongst  the  heathen  peoples  in  all  parts  of  the  world 
to  whom  access  had  been  given  its  missionaries  by  the 
discoveries  and  explorations  of  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth, 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  it  is  a  little  surprising  that 
in  none  of  the  earliest  companies  of  adventurers  going 
from  France  to  North  America,  were  there  any  priests 
or  evangelists. 

Apparently,  not  until  April,  1615,  when  Champlain 
sailed  from  Harfleur  on  his  third  voyage  does  it  seem 
that  there  was  any  effort  made  to  spread  a  knowledge 
of  the  Christian  religion  among  the  Indians.  What  is 
more  astonishing,  however,  is  that  the  small  companies 
of  traders  and  settlers  which  had  gone  to  America  before 
that  date,  seem  to  have  been  neglected  in  this  important 
matter. 

When  Champlain  left  France  at  that  time,  there 
were  in  his  company  four  members  of  the  subdivision 
of  the  Franciscan  order  of  monks.  This  branch  were 
called  Rccollets.  They  were  noted  for  the  great  strict- 
ness which  ruled  their  lives,  and  especially  for  the  im- 
portance which  they  attached  to  preaching  the  Gospel 
as  well  as  ministering  to  the  body  and  soul.  The  Recol- 
lets  who  accompanied  Champlain  at  that  time  were 
declared  by  him  to  be  the  most  intelligent  persons  in 
the  colony.  They  took  with  them  all  the  appurtenances, 
ornaments,  and  sacred  vessels  needed  for  use  in  the 
permanent  places  of  worship  which  they  intended  to 


BEGINNING     OF    NEW     FRANCE         33 

establish  at  once.  They  had,  besides,  other  similar 
material  for  the  portable  chapels  they  would  take  with 
them  into  the  wilderness.  Champlain  at  once  gave 
consent  to  the  opening  of  regular  Church  services  at 
the  three  principal  trading  posts  of  the  colony,  Quebec, 
Three  Rivers,  and  Tadousac. 

From  that  year,  161 5,  the  history  of  the  French  colony 
in  Canada,  as  well  as  that  of  the  gradual  extension  of 
discovery  and  occupation  westward,  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  efforts  of  the  Roman  Catholic  mission- 
aries, to  whose  ministrations  alone  —  it  will  be  recollected 
—  was  entrusted  the  sacred  privilege  of  trj'ing  to  convert 
the  Indians.  The  colonists  themselves  were  permitted 
to  conform  to  any  ritual  they  chose;  but  no  Protestant 
was  officially  deemed  competent  to  proselyte. 

One  of  the  RecoUets,  Rev.  Father  Joseph  le  Caron, 
was  sent,  soon  after  his  arrival,  into  the  distant  regions 
held  by  the  Huron  tribes,  a  section  of  the  continent  that, 
until  then,  had  never  been  visited  by  Europeans.  When 
Le  Caron  started  from  Quebec  on  his  mission,  Cham- 
plain  accompanied  him  for  a  time.  But  the  mission 
of  the  Viceroy  was  not  of  the  same  peaceful  nature  as 
that  of  the  priest.  Champlain  went  for  the  purpose, 
he  hoped,  of  chastising  the  Iroquois,  and  this  was  the 
third  expedition  against  these  troublesome  natives. 

We  may  well  read  a  lesson  in  this  singularly  contra- 
dictory aUiance,  for  it  is  typical  of  the  whole  history  of 
Canada  until  well  into  the  nmeteenth  century.  The 
missionary  was  to  preach  the  doctrine  of  peace;  the 
soldier  was  attempting  to  control  or  punish  the  Indians 
with  sword  and  shot.    There  is  temptation  to  dwell 


34  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Upon  the  respective  rights  of  white  man  and  red;  the 
latter  dispossessed  of  his  estates  by  the  former  without 
adequate  compensation:  but  history  has  been  made, 
and  history  repeats  itself  all  the  world  over. 

Le  Caron's  first  mission  outpost  was  probably  at  the 
northern  end  of  Lake  Simcoe,  which  is  connected  by  a 
broad  channel,  or  river,  with  Georgian  Bay  of  Lake 
Huron.  It  was  at  or  near  the  modern  village  of  Orillia. 
Here  he  settled  down  to  study  the  Indian  language  and 
to  do  what  he  could,  through  example,  to  interest  the 
natives  in  the  services  of  his  Church.  It  was  a  most 
intrepid  thing  to  do;  many  would  then  have  called  it 
foolhardy,  just  as  some  do  similar  effort  to-day. 

In  going  by  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  from  Toronto 
north  to  join  the  Canadian  Pacific's  transcontinental 
line  at  North  Bay  (before  the  latter  had  built  its  own 
connection  from  Toronto  to  Romford  Junction),  I 
passed  through  the  territory  in  which  the  priest  Le 
Caron  had  laboured  nearly  three  hundred  years  previ- 
ously. Shorn  as  all  that  part  of  the  Province  of  Ontario 
now  is  of  timber,  and  traversed  by  railways  or  abundantly 
supplied  with  good  roads,  it  was  impossible  to  form 
even  a  faint  idea  of  the  difficulties  which  that  missionary 
must  have  overcome;  first  to  reach  that  remote  out- 
station,  and  second  to  maintain  himself  and  his  mission. 

It  was  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  go  from  Quebec 
to  Montreal  by  canoe  or  larger  boat,  provided  no  war- 
party  of  the  Iroquois  molested.  Above  Montreal,  it 
was  difficult  to  get  past  the  Lachine  Rapids,  although 
it  was  done  frequently;  and  until  reaching  about  to 
the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Prescott,  navigation  was 


Meadow  Land,  B.  C. 


Fording  Moose  River,  B.  C. 


BEGINNING     OF     NEW     FRANCE         35 

not  altogether  easy.  But  after  that,  by  the  river, 
through  The  Thousand  Islands  and  along  the  northern 
shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  voyage  was  again  easy.  But 
from  the  lake  shore,  even  the  forty  miles  to  the  southern 
end  of  Lake  Simcoe  was,  in  16 15,  a  task  from  which  most 
people  would  recoil.  Because,  not  only  was  there  an 
almost  impenetrable  forest,  but  the  swamps  and  numer- 
ous watercourses  added  enormously  to  the  difficulty. 

A  few  years  later,  the  Recollet  mission  was  strength- 
ened numerically  by  the  coming  of  more  priests  and 
some  lay  brothers,  who  pushed  forward  to  stations 
even  beyond  Lake  Simcoe  into  the  remotest  Huron 
settlements.  One  of  these  newer  priests  was  the  Rev. 
Father  Gabriel  Sagard,  who  later  wrote  a  history  of 
Canada.  To  the  efforts  of  those  two,  Le  Caron  and 
Sagard,  was  due  the  measure  of  success  which  was 
achieved  in  securing  peace  between  the  Iroquois  and 
the  Hurons,  and,  incidentally,  reheving  the  French 
settlements  for  a  time  from  the  depredations  and  mur- 
derous onslaughts  of  the  former. 

The  Recollets  —  for  the  branch  was  a  mendicant 
order  —  were  hampered  by  their  poverty;  and  when 
the  Due  de  Ventadour  obtained  King  Louis  XIII's 
authority  to  assume  temporarily  the  viceroyalty  of 
New  France,  a  union  was  effected  between  the  Recollets 
and  the  wealthy  Jesuits.  In  the  first  company  of  the 
latter  that  went  to  Canada,  was  the  famous  Charles 
Lallemant  (variants  of  spelUng),  who  became  the  inti- 
mate friend  and  spiritual  adviser  of  Champlain  when 
he  was  again  made  viceroy.  Lallemant  attended  his 
patron  and  charge  at  the  time  of  his  death. 


36  THE    COMING     CANADA 

The  reception  given  the  Jesuits  when  they  landed  at 
Quebec  was  extremely  cool.  On  arriving  in  June,  1625, 
no  one  offered  to  shelter  them,  and  they  were  on  the 
point  of  accepting  the  offer  of  Emery  de  Caen,  then 
Governor  of  Quebec,  to  send  them  home.  But  at  last 
the  Recollets  tendered  them  hospitality,  and  very  soon 
they  set  about  creating  their  own  establishment,  chapel, 
residences,  fields,  orchards. 

In  1629  Champlain  was  compelled  to  surrender  Quebec 
to  the  three  English  brothers.  Sir  David,  Louis,  and 
Thomas  Kirke,  who  promised  that  the  churches,  build- 
ings, and  property  of  both  Jesuits  and  Recollets,  as  well 
as  certain  other  property  of  exceptional  non-combatants, 
should  be  respected  and  protected.  Three  years  later, 
when  by  treaty  with  England  New  France  was  restored 
to  France,  the  great  Cardinal  Richelieu  decided  that  it 
was  not  expedient  to  have  in  the  colony  more  than  a 
single  order.  Preference  being  given  the  Jesuits,  the 
Recollets  withdrew  for  the  time  being. 

It  is  a  heavy  indictment  against  our  much  vaunted 
civilisation,  but  we  must  admit  that  we  have  to  skip 
over  three  centuries,  before  we  find  any  great  deal 
of  fairness  in  the  treatment  which  Europeans  generally 
gave  to  the  Indians  of  North  America.  There  are,  it 
is  pleasing  to  admit,  several  exceptions  to  the  rule. 
Those  will  at  once  be  recalled  by  students,  but  they 
seem  to  make  the  general  fact  all  the  more  discreditable 
and  unsatisfactory.  For  the  last  hundred  years,  it  is 
to  Canada's  credit  that  official,  collective,  and  individual 
treatment  of  the  Indians  has  been  in  nearly  every  way 
better  than  the  similar  record  in  the  United  States. 


BEGINNING     OF    NEW     FRANCE         37 

We  speak  of  "The  Noble  Red  Man"  as  if  that  descrip- 
tive title  had  been  devised  originally  by  Europeans. 
But  the  appellation  ''Red  Man"  or  ''Red  People"  was 
used  by  the  American  savages  long  before  the  arrival 
of  the  white  men,  who  are  admitted  by  all  historians  to 
have  been  the  first  European  visitors.  Passing  by  every- 
thing that  the  Norsemen  may  have  done  in  bestowing 
names  which  described  people  or  places,  it  is  clear  that 
when  the  first  French  explorers  came  in  touch  with  the 
Beothiks  or  Red  Indians  of  Newfoundland,  they  already 
called  themselves  "Red."  The  title  is  a  translation  of 
the  Micmac  name  for  themselves,  Maqnajik,  which 
means  "Red  Men"  or  "Red  People."* 

If,  and  the  fact  is  hardly  to  be  disputed,  Verrazzano, 
Cabot,  and  others  perhaps,  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  North  American  Indians,  they  did  very  little  that 
redounds  to  their  credit  when  dealing  with  the  naked 
savages.  So  far  as  Canada  is  concerned,  we  may  say 
that  Jacques  Cartier's  act  on  Friday,  the  24th  of  June, 
1534,  was  the  beginning  of  actual  intercourse  between 
civilised  Europeans  and  wild  Americans. 

The  episode  is  treated  in  the  most  opposite  ways  by 
historians;  some  condemn,  others  approve.  The  fact 
seems  to  be  that,  after  ha\dng  explored  the  coast  of 
Labrador  as  far  north  as  a  place  he  called  Bld7ic  Sahlon 
(probably  the  narrow  strip  of  sandy  beach  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Hamilton  River),  discovered  the  insular 
character  of  Newfoundland,  seen  Cape  Breton  and  New 
Brunswick,  Car  tier  passed  along  the  southern  coast  of 

*  Conf.    Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Canada,  Sec.  II,    1891.     Rev.  George 
Patterson,  D.D.,  The  Beothiks  or  Red  Indians  oj  Newfoundland. 


38  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Gaspe  Peninsula.  He  was  so  much  better  pleased  with 
the  appearance  of  the  country  and  the  character  of  the 
soil  including  even  the  Magdalen  Islands,  that  he  said 
of  Isle  Byron,  "  one  acre  of  it  is  worth  the  whole  of  New- 
foundland." Of  Labrador,  he  had  declared  *'it  might, 
as  well  as  not,  be  taken  for  the  country  assigned  by  God 
to  Cain." 

He  concluded  that  it  was  his  duty  towards  his  king, 
as  well  as  in  the  interest  of  religion  and  for  the  welfare 
of  the  savages,  to  take  formal  possession  of  the  whole 
country,  and  he  probably  had  in  mind  all  there  was  of 
the  New  World  to  the  north  and  to  the  west.  To  what 
extent  he  recognised  the  claims  of  others  to  the  south- 
ward, is  not  very  clear. 

He  therefore  had  a  great  wooden  cross,  thirty  feet 
high,  raised  at  the  entrance  to  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs. 
Many  Indians  witnessed  this  ceremony  and  looked  with 
astonished  interest  upon  the  three  fleurs  de  lys,  which 
were  carved  on  the  cross,  and  the  inscription  "Vive  le 
Roy  de  France,''  that  was  cut  in  the  wood.  The  French- 
men all  fell  on  their  knees  in  a  circle  about  the  cross  and 
united  in  prayers,  raising  their  hands  towards  Heaven, 
"as  if  to  show  that  by  the  cross  came  their  redemption," 
that  is,  to  the  heathen  savages. 

After  the  Frenchmen  had  returned  from  tliis  ceremony 
to  their  vessel,  some  of  the  natives  went  alongside  in 
their  canoes,  among  them  being  the  chief,  his  three  sons, 
and  his  brother.  The  cliief  protested,  as  well  as  he 
could,  against  the  act  of  the  strangers,  and  indicated 
by  his  gestures  that  he  and  his  people  owned  all  that 
territory.     He  made  it  clear  that  the  Indians  considered 


BEGINNING     OF     NEW    FRANCE         39 

the  French  had  no  right  to  plant  that  cross  and  seem  to 
take  possession  of  everything. 

Whether,  as  some  authorities  state,  Cartier  placated 
this  chief  and  persuaded  him  to  allow  two  of  his  sons  to 
accompany  him  to  France,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
shown  at  Court  and  trained  to  act  as  interpreters;  or, 
as  the  less  charitable  contend,  he  forcibly  abducted  the 
two  young  men,  is  not  clear.  It  is  agreed  by  all,  however, 
that  two  young  Indians  did  go  to  France  when  Cartier 
returned  from  his  first  voyage  to  Canada,  and  that  it 
was  from  them  he  heard  of  the  great  St.  Lawrence  River. 
His  effort  to  confirm  or  disprove  their  statement  led  to 
the  discovery  on  the  next  voyage,  when  the  two  Indians, 
now.  competent  to  act  as  interpreters  and  guides,  were 
returned  to  their  friends. 

Again  Cartier  was  received  amicably  by  the  Indians, 
(a  fact  which  tends  to  discredit  the  statement  that  he 
had  used  force  and  treachery  to  get  possession  of  the 
two  young  men),  and  at  first  he  himself  seems  to  have 
tried  to  give  the  natives  no  good  reason  to  fear  the 
Europeans.  Yet  he  mistrusted  the  Indians,  and  prob- 
ably that  mistrust  was  reciprocated  by  the  savages,  for 
they  kept  a  close  watch  upon  the  intruders. 

But  at  the  conclusion  of  his  second  visit,  Cartier 
abandoned  his  policy  of  uninterrupted  kindness;  for 
in  May,  when  ready  to  sail  for  home,  after  another 
cross-planting  and  possession-taking,  he  induced  a  chief 
—  who  is  called  Donacona  —  and  several  others  to  go 
on  board.  Then  he  seized  him,  the  two  interpreters, 
and  seven  warriors,  whom  he  proposed  to  carry  off  to 
France  to  present  them  to  the  King.     This  was  a  piece 


40  THE     COMING     CANADA 

of  crass  stupidity,  and  utterly  obliterated  the  good  effect 
of  whatever  tact,  prudence,  and  sense  of  justice  Cartier 
had  previously  displayed. 

As  all  the  captives  had  died  in  France,  when  Cartier 
returned  to  Canada  after  an  absence  of  five  years,  the 
reception  given  him  by  the  Indians  was  distant,  sullen, 
defiant,  as  was  but  natural  on  learning  that  their  chief 
and  their  friends  had  not  been  returned  to  them.  I  pay 
no  attention  to  the  dissimulation  about  the  fate  of  those 
Indians  which  Cartier  is  said  to  have  resorted  to. 

If  that  was  the  beginning  of  intercourse  between 
Frenchmen,  contemplating  settlement  in  New  France, 
and  the  natives,  we  have  no  reason  to  be  surprised  that 
the  success  which  marked  the  effort  was  as  small  as  it 
is  stated  to  have  been.  Whichever  record  we  read,  we 
must  admit  that  intercourse  was,  as  a  rule,  not  happy. 
The  constant  effort  of  the  missionaries  may  have  been 
along  better  lines;  and  there  are  exceptionally  bright 
cases  among  the  officials;  but  the  motives  which  gov- 
erned the  average  Frenchman,  and  the  inherent  character 
of  the  Indian,  made  assimilation  and  concord  as  difficult 
as  is  the  mingling  of  oil  and  water. 

When  British  rule  in  Canada  was  firmly  established, 
and  after  the  Indians  were  chastised  into  showing  fear 
and  respect  for  the  power  of  their  conquerors,  condi- 
tions mended.  The  Dominion  Government  has  for  a 
very  long  time  exercised  the  most  admirable  care  in 
protecting  the  Indians,  in  trying  to  elevate  them  socially, 
and  to  preserve  them  physically.  It  is,  however,  an 
almost  hopeless  task.  For  one  reason,  the  average 
Indian  maiden,  if  she  possesses  any  charm  of  mind  or 


BEGINNING     OF     NEW     FRANCE         4I 

manner,  is  sought  in  marriage  by  white  men,  and  when 
allowed  to  make  her  own  choice  gives  preference  to  the 
white  man  over  her  own  people.  The  Noble  Red  Man 
does  not  always  thrive  in  modern  civilisation,  and  slowly 
but  surely  the  pure  strain  of  blood  is  flowing  away. 

The  behef  —  or  perhaps  it  would  be  more  charitable 
and  equally  exact  to  say,  the  hope  —  that  the  much 
desired  passage  to  the  East  Indies,  might  yet  be  found 
through  or  around  America  to  the  northward,  obsessed 
the  French  Canadians  for  a  very  long  time.  Even 
Champlain,  practical  as  he  was  in  most  matters,  listened 
only  too  willingly  to  the  declaration  of  the  impostor, 
Nicolas  du  Vignau.  This  fellow  declared  he  had,  in 
part,  discovered  such  a  route  in  161 2,  by  going  from 
Lake  Nipissing  to  Hudson's  Bay. 

Champlain,  on  the  strength  of  this  statement,  went  to 
the  lake  determined  to  prosecute  the  search.  But  the 
friendly  Indian  chief,  Tessouat,  proved  conclusively  that 
Vignau  was  a  liar,  and  he  demanded  that  Champlain 
punish  the  deceiver  with  death.  The  governor  con- 
tented himself  with  administering  a  sharp  rebuke,  and 
then  he  returned  disappointed  to  Quebec. 

Yet  it  could  not  be  that  the  French  would  remain 
passive  while  there  stretched  before  them  the  great 
western  and  northern  parts  of  the  continent.  It  would 
be  tedious  to  mention  all  the  efforts  of  the  colonial 
government  in  erecting  frontier  forts,  those  of  the  mis- 
sionaries in  establishing  remote  stations,  and  of  the 
coureurs  des  hois,  as  well  as  other  traders,  in  making 
more  or  less  permanent  trading  posts.  All  of  these 
were  gradually  pushing  forward  the  line  of  civilisation. 


42  THE     COMING     CANADA 

The  most  important  move  in  conquering  the  wilder- 
ness, was  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  River.  Joliet, 
with  his  Httle  company,  including  Father  Marquette, 
descended  the  great  stream  to  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  note  here  that  had  Joliet's  right, 
as  discoverer,  to  christen  the  river  been  recognised,  it 
would  now  be  called  the  Colbert  River,  for,  when  mak- 
ing his  report  to  Governor  Frontenac,  he  wrote,  ''this 
great  river,  which  bears  the  name  of  Colbert,  from  having 
been  discovered  lately  in  consequence  of  the  orders 
given  by  you,  passes  from  beyond  lakes  Huron  and 
Michigan,  and  flows  through  Florida  and  Mexico  into 
the  sea,  intersecting  the  most  beautiful  region  there  is 
to  be  seen  in  the  world."  The  name  was,  of  course,  a 
compliment  to  Jean  Baptiste  Colbert,  the  French  states- 
man and  financier. 

If  we  deny  to  Robert  la  Salle  the  honour  of  discovering 
the  Mississippi,  by  that  means  being  the  first  to  know 
the  stream,  we  cheerfully  accord  him  the  distinction  of 
being  the  first  to  navigate  the  river  from  far  in  the  north 
to  the  sea,  in  1682.  It  was  he  who  claimed  the  entire 
basin  for  his  King,  and  in  honour  of  that  sovereign,  he 
named  it  Louisiana.  La  Salle  also  established  many 
outposts  and  greatly  extended  French  importance 
among  the  western  Indians. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  unmis- 
takable signs  of  friction  between  the  French  and  English 
became  evident,  and  this  prevented  official  effort  to 
extend  western  exploration.  It  was  about  this  same 
period,  too,  that  the  family  name,  Le  Moyne,  appears 
conspicuously    in    Canadian    records.     While    the    two 


BEGINNING     OF    NEW    FRANCE         43 

brothers,  Charles  and  Jacques,  born  in  France,  were 
the  Canadian  progenitors  of  tliis  remarkable  family 
and  themselves  entitled  to  much  commendation,  it  is 
to  the  members  of  the  second  generation  in  Charles' 
family  that  most  credit  is  due.  There  were  fourteen 
children  in  this  brood,  all  of  whom  achieved  fame  or 
died  gloriously  in  the  cause  of  their  country.  To  each 
of  the  eleven  sons  was  given,  in  addition  to  the  family 
name,  a  surname  taken  from  a  village  or  noted  place 
near  Dieppe,  the  ancestral  home.  It  is  the  third,  Pierre 
Le  Moyne,  as  Sieur  d'Iberville,  who  has  been  given,  by 
an  admiring  historian,  the  added  title  of  ''The  First 
Great  Canadian."  The  Le  Moynes,  however,  had  less 
to  do  with  extending  the  frontiers  of  New  France  than 
with  defending  the  borders  from  what  they  considered 
to  be  unlawful  incursions  by  other  European  nations; 
as  will  be  seen  in  the  next  chapter. 

The  progress  made  by  the  French  in  proper  western 
extension,  was  exceedingly  slow.  When  the  historian 
and  Jesuit  missionary,  Pierre  Frangois  Xavier  de  Charle- 
voix, visited  Canada  in  1720,  and  after  giving  a  consider- 
able time  to  carefully  observation,  he  stated  that  the 
colony  was  virtually  restricted  to  narrow  fringes  along 
both  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  the  few 
settlements  in  the  maritime  provinces.  Above  Montreal, 
he  declared,  the  country  was  entirely  unsettled  by 
Europeans,  excepting  some  small,  inadequately  fortified 
posts  and  blockhouses;  such  as  Frontenac,  at  Catara- 
coni,  just  below  the  present  Kingston,  Niagara,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  Detroit,  and  IMichillimakinac,  on 
the  St.  Mary's  River  where  it  empties  into  Lake  Huron 


44  THE     COMING     CANADA 

from  Lake  Superior.  Of  the  character  of  the  people 
in  the  towns  and  settlements  along  the  St.  Lawrence, 
this  entertaining  observer  writes  intelligently  and  in 
quite  a  complimentary  manner.  The  comparison  which 
he  draws  between  EngHsh  and  French  colonists  is  not 
only  correct,  but  instructive.  He  probably  did  not 
reaHse,  when  he  penned  his  analysis,  that  the  very 
traits  which  he  lauds  in  the  French  and  condemns  in 
the  English,  thrift,  acquisitiveness,  energy,  were  to  be 
the  potent  factors  in  the  downfall  of  French  Canada. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  there 
were  three  recognised  lanes  of  communication  between 
Canada  and  Louisiana.  One  went  from  Lake  Erie  by 
the  Riviere  aux  Boeufs  and  the  Allegheny  River  to  the 
Ohio,  and  down  that  stream  to  the  Mississippi.  Another 
left  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  at  a  point  about 
where  Chicago  now  stands,  and  after  a  portage  to  the 
navigable  waters  of  the  Illinois  River,  followed  that 
stream  to  the  Mississippi.  The  third  passed  from  Green 
Bay,  Lake  Michigan,  into  Fox  River,  and  by  portage 
from  Lake  Oshkosh  and  its  tributaries,  reached  the 
Wisconsin  River  and  so  into  the  Mississippi  very  far  up 
stream. 

Fort  de  Chartres,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  town  of 
Chester,  Illinois,  some  distance  north  of  the  Ohio's 
mouth,  was  the  most  advanced  outpost  of  the  Louisiana 
settlements.  The  first  of  the  intercommunicating  lanes 
which  have  been  mentioned,  and  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant, was  protected  by  a  number  of  fortified  posts, 
stretching  southward  and  westward  from  Lakes  Ontario 
and  Erie;  and  it  was  along  this  road  that  troubles  were 


^''''P^'jkJaj^=iJg^5rr"^I2r 


Canadian  Northern  Railway  Elevator,   Port  Arthur,  Ont. 
Capacity,  7,500,000  bushels 


Beach  at  Little  Metis,  Quebec  Province 


BEGINNING    OF    NEW    FRANCE         45 

doomed  to  occur  very  soon  between  the  French  and  the 
EngKsh.  It  will  be  c\ident,  however,  that  the  most 
westward  forts  of  New  France  had  not  begun  to  reach 
half  way  across  the  continent. 

In  1 73 1,  the  Canadian  authorities  determined  to  put 
into  effect  a  plan  that  had  been  discussed  as  far  back  as 
1 7 18.  This  was  an  attempt  to  send  an  expedition 
overland  to  the  Pacific.  Governor  de  Beauharnais, 
after  consultation  with  Pierre- Gauthier  de  Varennes, 
Sieur  de  la  Verendrye,  appointed  him  to  take  charge  of 
the  venture.  This  was  not  only  because  of  the  gentle- 
man's personal  traits,  but  for  the  added  reason  that 
experience  in  trafficking  \nth  the  western  Indians  had 
brought  him  considerable  knowledge  of  that  remote 
country.  In  an  incidental  expedition,  before  the  main 
object  had  been  fairly  undertaken,  the  eldest  son  of 
M.  de  la  Verendrye,  the  Jesuit  priest  Father  Alneau  or 
Auneau,  and  twenty  voyageurs  were  murdered  by  Sioux 
Indians  on  an  island  in  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  But 
the  remainder  prosecuted  the  exploration,  and  on  Janu- 
ary I,  1743,  they  were  the  first  Europeans  to  see  the 
Rocky  Mountains:  thence  they  returned  to  Quebec. 
The  expedition  had  lasted  from  April  29,  1742,  to  July 
2,  1743.  Although  the  senior  Verendrye  endeavoured 
to  push  his  claim  to  be  allowed  to  continue  the  explora- 
tion, it  was  disallowed.  So  far  as  the  French  were  con- 
cerned, it  does  not  appear  that  they  went  to  the  top  of 
the  mountains,  or  beyond  them. 

This  is  a  very  brief,  but  reasonably  complete  sketch 
of  French  effort  at  western  exploration.  The  more 
successful  attempts  of  the  British  will  appear  from  time 


46  THE     COMING    CANADA 

to  time  in  subsequent  sections.  But  I  cannot  close 
this  chapter  without  reference  to  Mr.  Lawrence  J. 
Burpee's  paper,  The  Lake  of  the  Woods^  Tragedy,*  and 
his  monograph  on  La  Verendrye  and  the  discovery  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  one  volume  in  the  forthcoming 
History  of  Canada,  now  being  written  imder  the  direc- 
tion of  Dr.  Arthur  G.  Doughty,  C.M.G.,  Dominion 
Archivist,  as  editor  in  chief.  To  the  latter  monumental 
work,  all  students  of  American  history  will  be  ever- 
lastingly indebted. 

*  Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Can.,  Sec.  II,  1903. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  GREAT  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY 

BEFORE  discussing  the  English  company,  it  is 
interesting  to  consider  the  efforts  of  the  French 
and  others  to  reach  the  North  Sea,  as  they  called  Hud- 
son Bay.  Sebastian  Cabot  discovered  this  body  of 
water  in  15 12,  but  after  that  it  was  so  completely  for- 
gotten or  overlooked,  that  it  is  said  to  have  been  re-dis- 
covered by  Henry  Hudson  in  16 10,  when  he  was  trying 
to  find  a  northwest  passage  through  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
It  was  not  on  Hudson's  first  voyage  to  this  part  of  the 
world  that  he  pushed  as  far  westward  as  the  bay  which 
deservedly  bears  his  name.  In  1607,  he  had  made,  in 
the  employ  of  the  Muscovy  Company,  an  unsuccessful 
effort  to  get  round  Greenland. 

At  that  time  his  vessel  was  the  Hopewell,  sixty  tons 
burden,  and  carrying  a  crew  of  ten  men  and  a  boy. 
This  little  craft  had  been  to  the  same  region  twenty- 
nine  years  before,  under  Sir  Martin  Frobisher's  com- 
mand. The  temptation  to  dwell  upon  Frobisher's 
voyage  must  be  resisted;  for  while  it  is  interesting,  it 
is  somewhat  irrelevant.  In  16 10,  Hudson  made  another 
attempt.  This  time  his  vessel  was  the  Discoverie,  of 
seventy  tons  and  with  a  somewhat  larger  crew  than  the 
EopeweWs.  He  reached  the  bay;  but  the  next  summer 
the  majority  of  his  crew  mutinied,  put  liim,  his  son, 
and  seven  men  into  a  small  boat  and  set  them  adrift. 


48  THE     COMING     CANADA 

What  became  of  these  unfortunates  no  one  knows,  but 
imagination  can  readily  supply  the  conclusion  of  the 
awful  story.  The  leaders  of  the  mutiny  and  most  of 
the  remainder  of  the  men  died,  but  the  Discoverie  safely 
reached  England,  and  she  was  again  used  by  Sir  Thomas 
Butler  in  a  similar  enterprise  a  few  years  later.  Again, 
in  1 6 13  and  16 14  Hudson  Bay  was  visited  by  English- 
men, and  the  place  surveyed. 

In  1 65 1,  the  Jesuits,  after  having  gone  up  the  Saguenay 
River  to  Lake  St.  John  four  years  before,  made  their 
way  overland  from  the  lake  to  a  point  about  half  the 
distance  to  James  Bay,  the  deep,  southern  bight  of 
Hudson  Bay.  Their  object  was  to  reach  the  natives 
who  had  asked  that  missionaries  be  sent  to  them.  In 
1 66 1,  the  unsuccessful  expedition  under  M.  la  VaUiere, 
Father  Dablon,  and  others,  was  sent  to  try  to  reach 
Hudson  Bay  by  the  same  route;  but  the  dread  of  the 
Iroquois  discouraged  the  Indian  guides,  who  pretended 
ignorance  of  the  country,  and  the  party  returned.  In 
1656,  Jean  Bourdon,  in  a  small  craft  of  only  thirty  tons 
burden,  had  entered  Hudson  Bay  and  reached  the 
southern  extremity,  where  he  trafficked  with  the  natives. 
His  success  seems  to  be  reflected  in  the  narrative  of  the 
next  venture  to  be  mentioned. 

There  is  some  doubt  as  to  whether  or  not  Pierre- 
Esprit  Radisson,  a  voyagetir,  reached  James  Bay;  but 
some  Canadian  students  who  have  given  careful  atten- 
tion to  the  subject,  are  of  the  opinion  that  he  did.  Dr. 
Benjamin  Suite*  says:   *' Whatever  may  be  said  of  the 

*  Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Can.,  Vol.  X,  Sec.  II.  Radisson  in  the  Northwest, 
1661-63. 


Hudson's   bay   company  49 

whereabouts  of  Chouart  (Radisson's  brother-in-law) 
and  Radisson  during  the  summer  of  1662,  whether  they 
went  to  James  Bay  or  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  is  open  to 
discussion,  although  I  believe  they  visited  James  Bay." 
This  assumption  is  based  mainly  upon  the  fact  that 
Radisson  declared  the  people  of  Chagouamigon  (on  the 
northern  shore  of  Lake  Superior?),  where  he  spent  the 
winter  of  1662-63,  "after  his  return  from  James  Bay," 
had  been  told  by  him  of  his  promise  to  ''the  Indians 
of  James  Bay  of  his  intention  to  go  back  to  them  by  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  as  they  occupy  the  territory  of  the 
beaver,  par  excellence ^ 

It  is  but  right,  however,  to  give  what  Dr.  Suite  him- 
self quotes  and  says,  which  seems  to  contradict  his  own 
opinion.  Father  Jerome  Lallemant,  in  the  Journal  des 
Jesuites  says:  ''I  left  Quebec  on  May  3rd,  1662,  for 
Three  Rivers.  I  came  across  des  Groseilliers,  who  was 
going  to  the  North  Sea.  He  passed  during  the  night 
before,  Quebec,  with  ten  men,  and,  having  arrived  at 
Cap  Tourmente,  he  wrote  to  the  Governor."  Dr. 
Suite  adds:  ''If  the  date  of  this  note  is  correct,  the 
voyage  of  Radisson  may  be  open  to  doubt."  Father 
Louis  Hennepin,  in  his  edition  of  1698  (Nouveau  Voyage) 
writes:  "The  Great  Bay  of  the  North  was  discovered 
by  Monsieur  Desgroseliers  Rochechouart  (sic.)  with 
whom  I  often  travelled  in  canoe  when  I  was  in  Canada." 
But  Father  Hennepin  is  not  absolutely  infallible  as  an 
historian.  The  claim  which  he  puts  forward  in  his 
Nouvelle  Decouverte  d'un  tres  grand  Pays,  of  ha\ing 
descended  the  Mississippi,  in  1680,  is  known  to  be 
false. 


50  THE     COMING    CANADA 

M.  Talon  arrived  in  Canada  in  1665  bearing  the 
appointment  of  Royal  Intendant.  By  provisions  of  the 
French  Constitution  of  1663,  this  ofhcial  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  police,  finances,  and  general  administra- 
tion of  justice  throughout  the  whole  colony.  Talon 
was  called  ''The  Colbert  of  Canada,"  and  this  sobriquet 
indicates  something  of  his  ability.  He  is  described  as 
a  man  of  high  character  and  an  official  of  lofty  probity. 
He  is  credited  with  having  promoted  expeditions  for 
extending  the  boundaries  of  New  France  towards  the 
northward  and  westward.  These  efforts,  it  is  declared, 
subseque7itly  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  North  Sea; 
as  if  the  success  were  something  new. 

On  June  28,  1672,  one  expedition  which  Talon  pro- 
moted, went  from  Quebec  by  way  of  Tadousac,  the 
Saguenay  River,  and  Lake  St.  John  to  the  southern 
shore  of  James  Bay.  The  leaders  of  this  company  were 
St.  Simon  and  La  Couture,  with  whom  there  was  Father 
Charles  Albanal.  They  found  the  country  to  be  a 
desolate  region,  yet  they  took  possession  in  the  name  of 
the  King  of  France;  and  in  proof  of  this,  they  buried  a 
brass  plate,  on  which  were  engraved  the  royal  arms. 
This  act,  confirming  the  previous  assertion  of  proprietary 
rights  by  France  to  all  the  continent,  certainly  north- 
ward from  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin  and  the  Great  Lakes 
—  if  nothing  more  —  was  the  ground  upon  wliich  the 
French  took  their  stand  before  long  in  almost  constant 
efforts  to  dislodge  those  whom  they  called  "English 
intruders;"  until  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  April  11,  17 13, 
confirmed  the  title  of  Great  Britain  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Territory. 


Hudson's   bay   company  51 

In  1670,  Prince  Rupert,  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  and 
sixteen  other  noblemen  and  gentlemen  received  from 
Charles  II  of  England  a  charter  creating  "The  Gover- 
nor and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England  trading 
to  Hudson's  Bay."  The  charter  seems  to  have  been 
all  that  monopoly  could  ask:  ''the  sole  trade  and  com- 
merce of  all  those  seas,  straits,  bays,  rivers,  lakes, 
creeks,  and  sounds,  in  whatsoever  latitude  they  shall 
be,  that  lie  within  the  entrance  of  the  straits  commonly 
called  Hudson's  Straits,  together  with  all  the  lands  and 
territories  upon  the  countries,  coasts,  and  confines  of 
the  seas,  bays,  etc.,  aforesaid,  that  are  not  already 
actually  possessed  by  or  granted  to  any  of  our  subjects, 
or  possessed  by  the  subjects  of  any  other  Christian 
prince  or  state."  Besides  the  fullest  governing  and 
administrative  powers  over  these  undefined  regions, 
''which  the  Company  finally  agreed  to  accept  as  meaning 
all  lands  watered  or  drained  by  all  streams  flowing  into 
Hudson's  Bay,"  and  a  good  deal  more,  the  Company 
was  given  the  right  to  "the  whole  and  entire  trade  and 
traffick  to  and  from  all  havens,  bays,  creeks,  rivers, 
lakes,  and  seas  into  which  they  shall  find  entrance  or 
passage  by  water  or  land  out  of  the  territories,  limits, 
or  places  aforesaid." 

A  map  drawn  some  time  ago  of  "British  America  to 
illustrate  the  Charter  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,"  * 
shows  a  line  lea\ang  the  head  of  Committee  Bay  and 
going  southwesterly  to  Wallas  ton  Lake,  around  the 
headwaters   of   all   streams   flowing   east   into   Hudson 

*  See  Canada  tinder  British  Rule,  1760-igoo,  by  Sir  John  G.  Bourinot, 
p.  222. 


52  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Bay.  Thence,  inclining  more  to  the  west,  it  reaches 
the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  at  the  source  of 
the  North  Branch  of  the  Saskatchewan  River.  Then 
south  along  the  crest  of  the  main  ridge,  extending  about 
one  hundred  miles  into  the  United  States.  It  then 
turns  to  the  northeast  and  re-enters  Canada,  but  soon 
bends  south  and  re-crosses  the  boundary  in  order  to 
take  in  the  headwaters  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 
It  then  follows  the  divide  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  St. 
Lawrence  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Saguenay  River, 
and  thence  bears  up  sharply  to  the  north,  reaching  the 
ocean  again  at  Cape  Chudleigh,  Labrador.  Within  this 
area  there  are  millions  of  square  miles. 

In  this  immense  region,  which  was  called  Riiperfs 
Land,  in  honour  of  the  prince  concessionaire,  the  first 
attempts  at  settlement  were  on  the  shores  of  James 
Bay  and  the  mouth  of  the  Churchill  and  Hayes  (or 
Nelson)  Rivers.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  attacks  of 
the  French  and  the  heavy  losses  they  inflicted,  the 
profits  of  the  Company  would  have  been  so  enormous 
from  the  traffic  along  shore,  that  it  is  probable  no 
attempt  would  have  been  made  to  exploit  the  interior. 
So  negligent  was  the  Company  in  this  respect  that,  in 
1749,  some  envious  people  attempted  to  secure  the 
passage  of  an  act  of  parliament,  forfeiting  the  charter 
on  the  ground  of  "  non  user."  This  attack  was  thwarted, 
by  means  that  are  not  unfamiliar  to  the  champions  of 
*'big  business"  to-day;  but  the  investigation  that  was 
forced  developed  the  fact  that  the  Company  had  less 
than  a  dozen  trading  places,  called  —  and  not  altogether 
without   reason  —  *' forts."     These    were   all   scattered 


HUDSONS     BAY     COMPANY  53 

along  the  coast  and  were  maintained  by  a  few  regular 
employees,  who  resided  in  them  throughout  the  winter, 
and  were  aided  in  the  ''open"  season  by  the  crews  of  the 
visiting  ships.     These  vessels  were  always  heavily  armed. 

It  was  inevitable  that  individual  fur-traders  and  small 
companies  should  attempt  to  break  in  upon  the  monop- 
oly of  the  great  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  these 
in  turn  effected  a  combination  to  work  territory  which 
they  justly  claimed  was  outside  the  concession  of  their 
predecessor.  The  competition  which  this  developed 
was,  for  a  time,  most  disastrous,  and  after  varying 
vicissitudes,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  1838,  again 
secured  a  monopoly;  this  time  over  the  whole  of  Canada. 

The  Company's  licenses  to  trade,  which  had  never 
been  affected,  were  transferred,  in  a  manner,  to  the 
British  Government  in  1869  for  the  sum  of  £300,000, 
and  a  shareholder's  interest  of  one-twentieth  of  the 
entire  grant.  Even  to-day,  the  traveller's  eyes  fre- 
quently fall  upon  the  sign  "Hudson's  Bay  Company" 
over  a  furrier's  shop  in  some  city,  or  a  ''general  store" 
in  a  small  place  far  out  west.  If  he  has  taken  more 
than  superficial  interest  in  the  history  of  the  Dominion, 
these  signs  will  recall  some  stirring  scenes  in  the  past, 
and  will  bring  to  mind  the  names  of  many  true  heroes. 

But  let  us  first  turn  to  some  of  the  encounters  between 
the  Frenchmen  who  made  life  a  burden  for  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  people,  at  the  stations  along  the  coasts 
of  Hudson  Bay.  In  this  connection,  we  must  almost 
necessarily  think  of  Pierre  Le  Moyne,  Sieur  d'Iber\ille. 
Governor  Frontenac  was  in  most  ways  an  admirable 
official  —  invaluable,  in  fact,   as  we  know  because  of 


54  THE     COMING     CANADA 

re-appointment;  but  he  was  rather  arbitrary  and  dis- 
posed to  arrogate  to  himself  authority  which  was  properly 
deputed  to  others,  who  claimed  the  right  to  administer 
certain  affairs  of  the  colony.  He  got  into  disputes  with 
the  clergy  and  laity  as  to  the  relative  powers  of  the 
three  important  officials,  Governor,  Bishop,  and  Inten- 
dant.  He  was  disposed  to  usurp  wholly  the  functions 
of  the  intendant,  and  he  refused  to  permit  the  clergy 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  civil  affairs,  even  when  such 
came  properly  within  their  province:  the  liquor  traffic, 
for  example. 

Matters  came  to  such  a  pass  that  the  Bishop,  Laval, 
a  name  that  is  now  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  Canadians, 
went  to  France  to  try  to  sustain  his  position.  Fron- 
tenac,  however,  had  influential  friends  at  Court,  and  the 
appeals  of  both  parties  were  almost  negative  in  their 
direct  results.  The  upshot  of  the  matter  was  that  the 
Court,  being  unable  to  effect  harmony,  recalled  both 
Frontenac  and  Duchesneau,  the  Intendant;  the  Bishop 
it  could  not  touch. 

M.  de  la  Barre  was  appointed  governor  and  M.  de 
MeuUes  intendant.  The  former  was  before  long  suc- 
ceeded by  M.  de  Denonville.  In  1683,  the  great 
Colbert  was  succeeded  in  office  as  Minister  of  Marine 
by  his  eldest  son,  Jean  Baptiste  Colbert,  Marquis  de 
Seigneley,  who  held  office  until  his  death  in  1690.  Inas- 
much as  the  colonies  were  all  under  the  control  of  this 
department  of  the  French  administration,  de  Seigneley 
interested  himself,  both  from  necessity  and  because  of 
personal  ambition,  in  the  affairs  of  Canada. 

He  gave  orders  to  Governor  Denonville  to  take  active 


Hudson's   bay   company  55 

measures  to  decide  the  long  standing  dispute  as  to  the 
rights  of  France  or  England  in  the  territory  around 
Hudson  Bay,  which  was  by  him  considered  to  include 
all  of  Labrador  as  well  as  the  precise  Hudson  Bay  basin. 
The  French  government  looked  upon  this  region  as  of 
great  importance  strategically;  but  of  greater  economic 
value  on  account  of  the  fur- trade.  Whether  Radisson, 
who  has  been  mentioned,  actually  made  his  way  to 
Hudson  Bay  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  it  was  because  of 
his  representations  and  persuasions  that  ''The  Com- 
pany of  English  Adventurers  "  came  into  corporate  being, 
and  estabHshed  trading  posts  at  places  where  the  very 
best  of  fur-trade  was  exploited.  These  "forts  kept  the 
current  of  skins  flowing  steadily  toward  England." 

Radisson  was  supposed  to  be  a  Frenchman;  and  of 
this  there  is  little  doubt,  even  if  his  original  Journal  is 
written  in  quaint  old  English.  He  had  a  position  under 
the  French  colonial  government,  but  he  betrayed  his 
post  and  an  entire  shipload  of  valuable  furs  to  the 
English.  It  was  this  particular  act  which  roused  the 
indignation  of  the  Canadians,  and  made  them  call  upon 
the  Home  Government  to  bestir  itself  in  asserting  and 
upholding  French  rights  in  the  Hudson  Bay  territory. 
Erelong  a  number  of  Quebec  merchants  formed  an 
association  which  they  called,  "La  Compagnie  du 
Nord."  The  promoters  intended,  with  government  aid, 
to  attack  in  every  way  the  monopoly  of  the  great  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company. 

Just  at  that  moment,  it  happened  that  France,  under 
King  Louis  XIV,  and  England,  under  James  II,  were 
officially  at  peace.     But   the   former  argued,   not  un- 


56  THE     COMING     CANADA 

naturally,  that  inasmuch  as  he  was  giving  the  latter 
large  sums  of  money  each  year,  in  satisfaction  of  the 
terms  of  what  was  then  a  secret  agreement  between  the 
two  monarchs,  mainly  in  the  interests  of  the  Roman 
Cathohc  Church,  his  beneficiary  would  hardly  resent 
militantly  the  attempt  of  the  patron  to  occupy  the  dis- 
puted Rupert's  Land. 

Besides,  there  was  a  semblance  of  right  on  the  French 
monarch's  part.  Hudson,  it  is  true,  was  the  re-discoverer 
in  1610;  but  Cabot  was  the  original  discoverer,  and 
nobody  from  England,  or  anywhere  in  Europe  for  that 
matter,  had  taken  the  slightest  notice  of  this  God- 
forsaken land  for  nearly  eighty  years  after  Hudson  had 
told  about  it.  At  length  Radisson  and  Groseilliers, 
Frenchmen,  made  an  establishment  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Hayes  River,  1661-1663.  That  was  from  five  to 
eight  years  before  the  English  had  founded  a  trading 
station  on  Rupert  River,  1 668-1 669;  and  from  seven  to 
nine  years  before  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was 
chartered. 

There  were,  however,  other  reasons  more  cogent  than 
the  peltry  trade,  enormously  profitable  though  it  was, 
which  doubtless  influenced  the  French  King  in  his 
desire  to  get  the  English  away  from  Hudson  Bay.  His 
servants  in  New  France  were  looking  with  alarm  upon 
the  fact  that  English  settlements  were  likely  to  press 
upon  Canada  from  both  south  and  north,  if  the  trading- 
posts  on  Hudson  Bay  were  permitted  to  remain  and  to 
follow  the  natural  law  of  extension.  It  was  not  so  very 
far  from  the  head  of  James  Bay  to  the  St.  Lawrence 
watershed,  and  each  year  it  would  be  easier  to  pass  from 


Hudson's   bay   company  57 

the  Hudson  Bay  posts  into  Canada.  Of  course  at  that 
time,  the  much  easier  routes  by  the  Severn  or  the  Nelson 
River  and  Lake  Winnipeg,  were  not  open. 

In  obedience  to  Seigneley's  orders,  Governor  Denon- 
ville  mobilised  at  Montreal  a  company  of  regular  soldiers 
and  voyageurs,  thirty  of  the  former  and  seventy  of  the 
latter,  under  the  command  of  Captain  de  Troyes,  an 
officer  in  the  celebrated  Carignan  Regiment.  There 
were,  besides,  a  large  body  of  Indians,  guides,  canoe  men, 
and  hangers-on  generally.  Among  the  Canadians  were 
three  young  members  of  the  Le  Moyne  family,  de  St. 
Helene,  that  is  Jacques,  the  second  son,  dTberville, 
Pierre,  the  third,  and  de  Maricourt,  the  fourth.  They 
had  volunteered  to  act  as  guides,  interpreters,  and  scouts ; 
but  they  were  very  quickly  made  leaders;  and  before 
long  Pierre  was  next  in  command  to  De  Troyes. 

There  were  then  —  as,  indeed,  we  may  say  there  are 
now  —  three  canoe  routes,  in  the  right  season  not 
involving  any  exceedingly  difficult  portages,  betwxen 
the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  Hudson  Bay  (briefly  —  the 
Saguenay  River;  the  St.  Maurice  River;  and  the  Ottawa 
River  —  Lake  Abillibi).  This  ^'troup  of  daredevil 
bushrangers  sweeping  down  the  forested  waterways  of 
the  North,"  chose  the  third;  hoping  to  keep  the  English 
from  getting  warning  in  advance,  and  also  to  evade  the 
watchful  eyes  of  any  wandering  band  of  Iroquois. 

The  time,  the  circumstances,  and  the  customary 
hap-hazardness  of  such  enterprises  being  considered, 
this  expedition  was  remarkably  well  organised.  Every 
white  man  was  a  fighter,  first  of  all;  but  each  one  had, 
besides,  some  accomplishment  or  trade  that  was  to  be 


58  THE     COMING     CANADA 

useful  in  carrying  out  the  minor  object  of  the  enterprise, 
that  is  the  establishing  and  maintaining  permanent 
stations  after  the  main  purpose  of  dislodging  the  English 
had  been  accomplished.  The  full  narrative  of  this 
expedition  is  absorbingly  interesting  to  adults;  while  it 
makes  the  heart  and  muscles  of  a  strong,  venturesome 
boy  tingle  to-day;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  has 
been  given  in  detail.* 

The  full  company  heard  mass  early  in  the  morning  of 
March  20,  1686,  and  then  "departed  bravely  through 
the  eager  throng  of  relatives  and  friends  who  collected 
at  the  shore  to  look  long  and  anxiously  after  them  as 
they  ascended  the  frozen  channel  of  the  river."  On 
June  i8th,  they  were  within  sight  of  Hudson  Bay.  "In 
three  months  the  hardy  voyageurs  had  covered  six  hun- 
dred miles  of  new  trail,  through  a  most  rugged  part  of 
Canada  by  snowshoes."  It  was  not  in  midwinter,  as 
some  writers  state;  for  at  that  season  it  would  really 
have  been  an  easier  task  —  so  far  as  actual  travel  is 
concerned  —  than  the  one  they  performed  in  the  late 
winter  and  spring,  when  the  snow  was  soft  and  the  ice 
breaking. 

At  that  time  the  English  had  but  few  posts  along  the 
Hudson  Bay  Uttoral:  Moose  Factory,  called  Fort  Mon- 
sipi  by  the  Indians  and  Fort  St.  Louis  by  the  French, 
at  the  mouth  of  Moose  River,  southwestern  end  of  James 
Bay;  Fort  Rupert  at  the  southeastern  corner  of  the 
same  bay;  Fort  Kitchichouane  or  Fort  Albany,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Albany  River,  called  Fort  St.  Anne  by 

*  Charles  B.  Reed.  The  First  Great  Canadian:  the  Story  of  Pierre 
Le  Moyne,  Sieur  d' Iberville. 


Hudson's   bay   company  59 

the  French;  New  Savanne  or  Severn,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Severn  River,  called  by  the  French  Fort  St.  Therese; 
and  Fort  Nelson,  afterwards  Fort  York,  which  the 
French  called  Fort  Bourbon.  This  last  named  was  the 
strongest  and  best  of  all,  and  its  location,  at  the  mouths 
of  the  Hayes  and  Nelson  Rivers,  the  most  important 
strategically  and  economically  at  that  time,  as  it  has 
always  been  ever  since.  Radisson  and  GroseilHers  had 
made  a  station  near  this  same  place  and  it  was  this  fact 
which  gave  the  French  the  only  basis  for  their  claim  to 
the  territory. 

The  French,  under  the  direction  of  DTberville  and  De 
St.  Helene,  attacked  Moose  Factory  and  were  promptly 
successful,  although  the  commandant.  Governor  Bridgon, 
had  left  the  previous  evening,  June  17,  1686,  with  fif- 
teen men  for  Fort  Rupert.  The  Frenchmen  followed 
them,  and  it  is  said  that  DTberville,  with  only  a  small 
squad,  opened  a  trail  across  the  neck  of  land  —  between 
Hannah  and  Rupert  Bays  —  that  is  used  to  this  day. 
The  attacking  party  covered  the  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  in  five  days.  Again  they  were  at  once  successful, 
and  after  resting  four  days,  they  returned  to  Moose 
Factory,  and  thence  went  on  to  Fort  Albany. 

When  the  French  arrived  before  this  post,  the  garrison 
had  been  informed  of  the  impending  attack  by  some 
friendly  Indians,  and  should  have  been  prepared  to 
resist.  Partly  because  of  the  fierce  assault,  but  mainly 
through  treachery  within,  the  governor,  Sargeant,  was 
compelled  to  capitulate,  and  for  his  weakness  was 
severely  censured  later  by  the  directors  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.     But  apparently  he  had  no  alternative. 


6o  THE     COMING     CANADA 

This  victory  gave  the  French  large  supplies  of  pro- 
visions, trading  stores,  ammunition,  and  a  ship  loaded 
with  fifty  thousand  valuable  furskins.  It  also  made 
them  masters  of  Hudson  Bay.  The  ship  and  most  of 
the  Englishmen  were  sent  to  France  in  charge  of  a  prize 
crew. 

Although  not  yet  officially  constituted  by  royal  charter, 
^'The  Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  trading 
into  Hudson's  Bay"  seems  to  have  been  at  that  time 
an  organised  body;  for  on  receipt  in  London  of  the  news 
from  the  bay,  the  directors  sent  a  petition  to  King  James 
praying  for  redress  because  "the  French  of  Canada, 
this  yeare,  have  in  a  piraticale  manner  taken  and  totally 
despoyled  youre  Peticioners  of  three  of  theyre  Fortes 
and  Factories  on  Hudson's  Bay,  three  of  their  shypes 
or  vessels,  Fifty  Thousand  Beaver  skins,  and  a  grete 
quantity  of  provisions,  stores,  and  marchandises  laid 
in  for  manye  yeares  trade,  and  have  in  a  small  vessel 
turned  out  to  sea  above  Fifty  of  Youre  Majestic 's  sub- 
jects who  were  then  in  youre  Peticioners  service,  to 
shifte  for  themselves  or  perish  miserably,  besides  those 
whome  they  have  kylled  or  detayned  Prisoners." 

It  was  some  years,  however,  before  anything  was  even 
contemplated.  When  ships  were  sent  to  attempt  the 
recapture  of  Fort  Nelson,  news  of  the  expedition  was 
communicated  to  the  French  authorities  in  Canada  and 
to  D 'Iberville,  who  not  only  harassed  the  English,  but 
by  a  clever  coup  gained  possession  of  the  vessel  that  had 
the  cargo  of  furs  and  carried  her  off  to  Quebec;  thus 
further  "despoyling"  the  Company. 

When   Frontenac   was   again   sent   as    Governor   to 


Prince  Rlpert  Harbour 


On   Moose  Tkaii.  Ri\er,  B.  C 


Hudson's   bay   company  6i 

Canada,  in  1689,  William  of  Orange  and  Queen  Mary 
were  on  the  English  throne,  and  all  pretence  of  friend- 
ship between  the  English  and  French  Courts  had  ceased. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  the  long  struggle  between  New 
France  and  New  England,  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany was  made  to  bear  its  full  share  of  the  burden.  The 
Peace  of  Utrecht  brought  a  little  respite,  so  far  as  open 
hostilities  went;  but  it  was  not  until  the  transfer  of 
Canada  to  Great  Britain,  1763,  that  the  Company  was 
relieved  from  all  anxiety  due  to  French  interference  and 
depredations. 

But  there  came  other  causes  for  anxiety.  The  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  maintained  its  American  head- 
quarters at  York  Factory  (Fort  Nelson) ;  its  employees 
going  along  all  the  shores  and  as  far  inland  as  necessary 
to  gather  up  the  pelts.  In  1783,  The  North  West  Com- 
pany was  organised  by  some  Montreal  merchants,  most 
of  whom  were  Scotchmen.  They  contemplated  working 
in  the  North  West  Territories,  going  in  from  the  south 
and  diverting  a  part  of  the  furskins  from  going  north 
into  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  hands.  Its  adminis- 
trative headquarters  were  at  Fort  William  on  the 
Kaministiquia  River.  This  name  has  disappeared  from 
our  modern  maps,  but  the  location  of  Fort  William,  on 
Thunder  Bay,  Lake  Superior,  is  readily  established,  and 
its  advantages  as  a  shipping  point  are  conspicous. 
The  North  West  Company's  men  became  explorers  of 
the  then  unknown  lands  away  off  to  the  Pacific  and  the 
Arctic  Oceans. 

Alexander  Mackenzie,  afterwards  knighted,  was  the 
first  white  man  to  follow  the  great  river  which  bears  his 


62  THE     COMING     CANADA 

name,  from  its  source  to  its  mouth.  He  was,  too,  the 
first  European  to  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  reach 
the  Pacific  shores  in  that  latitude.  Another  employee 
of  the  Company,  Simon  Fraser,  in  1808  found  the  river 
which  bears  his  name,  and  which,  for  a  long  time,  was 
confused  with  the  Columbia,  or  at  least  supposed  to 
be  an  affluent  of  that  stream.  Later,  David  Thompson, 
whose  name  is  given  to  another  important  river  in 
British  Columbia,  crossed  the  Rockies  farther  south  of 
]\Iackenzie's  trail,  and  descended  the  Columbia  to  its 
mouth.  He  also  was  probably  the  first  European  to 
see  Puget  Sound. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  pioneers;  yet  their  exploits 
give  an  inkling  of  what  competition  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  was  made  to  face.  The  culmination  of  the 
rivalry  was  reached  about  18 18,  and  is  attributable  to 
the  effort  of  Thomas  Douglas,  fifth  Earl  of  Selkirk,  to 
establish  a  colony  in  the  Red  River  of  the  North  basin. 
His  settlers  were  under  the  protection  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company;  while  opposed  to  them  were  squatters 
and  others,  "Northwesters,"  who  were  supported  by 
the  North  West  Company.  Governor  Semple,  of  the 
Selkirk  colony,  and  twenty-six  persons  connected  there- 
with, were  murdered  by  half-breeds,  and  justice  was 
thwarted  by  false  swearing. 

Then,  in  182 1,  the  North  West  Company  made  over 
all  its  property  to  its  rival,  and  thus  were  the  fortunes 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  retrieved,  and  prosperity 
came  again  to  its  shareholders,  but  it  was  at  the  expense 
of  the  public.  Practically  all  clearheaded  Canadians 
(who  were  not  personally  interested  in  the  company) 


Hudson's   bay   company  63 

saw  that  its  monopoly  was  acting  as  a  serious  deterrent 
to  the  proper  development  of  the  west  and  north,  and 
a  movement  was  started  to  break  up  the  monopoly. 
The  Company's  directors  were  sagacious  enough  to  see 
that  they  could  not  indefinitely  withstand  public  senti- 
ment, and  this  facilitated  the  negotiations  between  Sir 
George  Cartier  and  the  Hon.  William  Macdougall, 
Colonial  commissioners,  and  representatives  appointed 
by  the  Company.  These  brought  about  a  transfer  of 
all  the  Company's  imperial  domains,  excepting  small 
areas  at  factories.  Into  further  details  I  cannot  go, 
although  there  is  yet  much  of  interest  to  narrate. 


CHAPTER  V 

CONFLICT:    WARS  IN  AMERICA  BETWEEN 
FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND 

FOR  the  causes  of  the  really  important  wars  between 
France  and  England  in  North  America,  we  must 
of  course  look  to  conditions  in  Europe.  But  there  were 
sundry  minor  belligerent  affairs  in  the  earlier  years  of 
Canadian  history  which  demand  a  few  minutes  consider- 
ation. 

From  the  time  of  the  settlement  at  Jamestown,  Vir- 
ginia, 1607,  England  claimed  the  whole  territory  of 
northeastern  America  from  the  Florida  seaboard  up 
to  the  45th  parallel  of  North  latitude.  That  line  takes 
in  about  one-half  of  Nova  Scotia,  the  southern  one-third 
of  Maine,  is  the  northern  boundary  of  Vermont  and  of 
New  York  east  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River  at  Cornwall, 
Ontario,  includes  more  than  one-half  of  the  province 
of  Ontario  as  it  was  until  recently,  cuts  across  the  tip 
of  the  southern  peninsula  of  Michigan,  bisects  Green 
Bay,  and  passes  west  through  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis. 
France,  however,  contended  that  her  rights  extended 
down  to  the  40th  parallel :  that  is  to  say,  to  Philadelphia, 
Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  Columbus,  Ohio,  Quincy, 
Illinois.  It  is  for  convenience  only  that  modern  names 
are  used,  because  they  help  the  reader  to  understand 
more  clearly  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  two  Powers, 


WARS  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND    65 

France  and  England,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

Upon  the  strength  of  France's  claim,  an  expedition 
under  the  command  of  La  Saussure  headed  for  the 
Penobscot  River,  with  the  intention  of  establishing  a 
colony  of  Jesuits  and  their  followers.  But  the  foggy 
weather  that  is  so  prevalent  in  that  section  during  the 
summer,  prevented  their  finding  the  mouth  of  the  river 
and  a  landing  was  made  on  Mount  Desert  Island,  where 
a  settlement  was  begun  and  called  Saint  Sauveur.  It 
was  a  thrifty  colony  for  a  time,  but  it  was  crushed  out 
of  existence  by  the  English  before  long. 

The  English  declared  that  the  central  portion  of 
Acadia  belonged  to  them,  and  Mount  Desert  of  course. 
Capt.  Argall  appeared  off  the  coast  of  the  island,  in  a 
vessel  mounting  fourteen  guns,  and  demanded  the  sur- 
render of  Saint  Sauveur.  Some  sHght  show  of  resist- 
ance being  made  —  so  he  claimed  —  he  assaulted  and 
sacked  the  place,  taking  most  of  the  inhabitants  prisoners 
while  a  few  escaped  in  a  small  boat. 

Argall  deliberately  stole  La  Saussure's  commission  and 
then  declared  that  he  and  his  people  were  unaccredited 
adventurers.  There  is  not  space  to  give  full  attention 
to  the  consequences  of  this  cruel  and  dishonourable  act; 
but  when  the  facts  became  known  to  the  English  gov- 
ernment of  Virginia,  it  was  necessary  either  to  support 
Argall  or  repudiate  him  as  a  pirate.  The  former  course 
was  chosen  and  it  was  determined  to  drive  all  French- 
men from  every  post  occupied  by  them  south  of  45° 
North  latitude. 

Sainte   Croix   and  Port   Royal   were   destroyed   and 


66  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Acadia  was  devastated.  Poutrincourt,  the  founder  of 
Port  Royal  and  even  of  Acadia  itself,  fled  to  France. 
Some  compensation  for  the  loss  inflicted  by  the  illegal 
acts  of  Argall  and  the  other  Virginians,  was  subsequently 
made  by  the  British  government.  The  episode  can 
hardly  be  dignified  by  the  appellation  of  *'war, "  yet  it 
served  to  show  the  jealousy  between  the  peoples  of  the 
two  nations  which  early  asserted  itself  in  North  America, 
and  that  feeling  never  was  allayed  until  one  of  the  Powers 
was  driven  out. 

After  Argall  had  razed  Port  Royal,  the  English  left 
Acadia  without  maldng  effort  to  substantiate  their 
claims  to  any  part  of  the  region.  In  162 1,  Sir  William 
Alexander,  afterwards  Earl  of  StirHng  (by  which  title 
he  is  better  known),  was  given  a  grant  of  the  province 
by  James  I  of  England.  The  next  year  a  company  of 
emigrants  left  Scotland  with  the  intention  of  planting 
permanent  colonies  in  the  section  which  thereafter  was 
to  be  called  Nova  Scotia,  ''New  Scotland."  As  they 
arrived  at  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  late  in. the  autumn, 
they  were  obliged  to  pass  the  winter  there.  In  the 
spring  of  1623,  their  vessel  sailed  again  and  they  coasted 
along  the  southern  shore  of  Acadia  to  Cape  Sable.  The 
Frenchmen  being  again  in  full  possession,  the  Scots 
turned  about  and  returned  home. 

In  1626,  Alexander  received  from  King  James  a  grant 
conferring  upon  him  "the  Lordship  of  Canada."  This 
was  at  the  time  of  the  war  in  France  between  Roman 
Catholics  and  Huguenots.  To  understand  clearly  the 
bearing  of  this  matter  upon  Canadian  liistory,  careful 
attention  should  be  given  to  the  siege  of  La  Rochelle, 


WARS  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND   67 

and  the  anger  of  the  English  Duke  of  Buckingham  at 
the  relief  of  the  town  by  Cardinal  Richeheu,  as  well  as 
to  Buckingham's  success  in  persuading  the  King  of 
England  to  declare  war  against  Louis  XIII  of  France. 
Hostilities  speedily  spread  to  America  and  a  naval 
expedition,  under  command  of  David  Kirke  —  with 
whom  were  associated  his  brothers,  Louis  and  Thomas 
—  appeared  in  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Quebec  surrendered 
in  July,  1629;  but  was  promptly  restored  to  France  upon 
re-establishing  of  peace  between  the  parent  countries. 

During  this  time  it  was  not  only  the  English  from 
whom  the  Roman  CathoKc  French  in  Canada  suffered 
attack  (religious  freedom  was  \irtually  suspended  in 
1628);  but  there  were  French  Protestants  who  harassed 
them.  The  most  formidable  of  these  was  Claude  de  La 
Tour,  a  ''baronet"  of  Nova  Scotia  by  letters  patent  from 
the  English  king.  His  ships  flew  the  English  colours 
and  were  manned  principally  by  EngKshmen. 

A  sentimental  episode  in  connection  with  this  enter- 
prise is  the  fact  that  when  La  Tour  arrived  before  the 
French  fort  at  Cape  Sable,  it  was  commanded  by  his 
own  son.  The  father  tried  to  persuade  the  son  to  accept 
the  same  favours  from  the  King  of  England  that  had 
been  bestowed  upon  the  senior;  and  then  he  sought  to 
induce  his  son  to  hold  the  fort  as  an  English  possession, 
not  French.  The  young  man  refused  to  do  anything  of 
the  kind.  After  a  few  feeble  and  unsuccessful  attempts 
at  assaults,  the  elder  La  Tour  gave  up  the  task.  But 
he  dared  not  return  either  to  England  or  France,  so  he 
simply  deserted,  letting  his  ships  make  their  way  back  to 
England  as  best  they  could.    The  son  refused  to  admit 


68  THE     COMING    CANADA 

his  father  into  the  fort,  but  he  erected  for  him  a  small 
house  nearby  which  he  furnished  completely.  There  his 
father  and  his  stepmother,  who  had  been  a  Maid  of 
Honour  to  the  Queen  of  England,  lived  for  several  years. 

The  demand  for  the  restitution  of  Quebec  was  not 
favoured  by  all  members  of  the  French  council  of  state, 
and  for  some  time  the  fate  of  New  France  trembled  in 
the  balance;  but  probably  the  argument  that  carried 
most  weight  with  those  who  were  disposed  to  give  up 
the  attempt  to  create  a  realm  in  that  inhospitable  region 
of  ice  and  hostile  Indians,  was  the  declaration  that  it 
was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  retain  possession  of  all 
of  New  France  in  order  to  counterbalance  the  increasing 
importance  which  England  was  gaining  through  the 
expansion  and  increase  of  population  in  her  American 
plantations. 

The  demand  was  therefore  pushed  \agorously.  Car- 
dinal Richelieu,  to  stimulate  negotiations,  equipped  a 
fleet  of  six  men-of-war,  which  he  put  under  the  command 
of  Admiral  de  Razilli,  and  let  it  be  known  throughout 
France  and  in  England  that  they  would  soon  sail  for 
the  St.  Lawrence,  if  negotiations  were  not  speedily  and 
satisfactorily  brought  to  a  conclusion.  The  treaty  of 
St.  Germain-en-Laye  was  signed  March  29,  1632.  By 
its  terms  England  renounced  all  pretensions  which  had 
ever  been  made  by  her  subjects,  and  promised  not  to 
permit  them  to  interfere  with  French  administration 
in  Canada,  so  long  as  peace  lasted. 

The  historian  Chalmers,  when  discussing  this  episode, 
says:  ''We  may  date  from  this  treaty  the  conmience- 
ment  of  a  long  series  of  evils  for  Great  Britain  and  her 


WARS  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND   69 

colonies,  the  difficulties  with  the  provincials  afterwards, 
and,  in  some  measure,  the  success  of  the  American 
Revolution."  It  is  probable  that  this  event  had  some 
influence  in  weakening  the  allegiance  of  the  British 
colonies  in  North  America  to  the  mother  country.  There 
is  strongly  suggestive  evidence  of  this  in  the  fact  that 
in  1648  an  envoy  from  New  England  arrived  at  Quebec, 
charged  with  a  proposal  to  negotiate,  between  the 
British  colonies  in  North  America  and  the  colonial 
administration  of  New  France,  independently  of  their 
respective  Home  Governments,  a  treaty  of  commerce 
and  perpetual  amity  between  the  two  sets  of  colonists. 

The  most  important  suggestion  was  that  both  French 
and  English  subjects  in  North  America  should  remain 
neutral  in  all  quarrels  between  their  respective  mother 
countries,  and,  so  far  as  the  two  colonists  were  able  to 
do  so,  not  permit  European  quarrels  to  be  fought  out  in 
America.  Although  the  proposal  was  seriously  con- 
sidered by  the  French,  the  negotiations  ended  in  failure 
to  accomplish  anything.  The  main  reason  for  this  was 
the  counter  proposal  of  the  French,  who  demanded  that 
a  special  alliance  should  be  entered  into  by  the  two 
contracting  parties  to  punish  the  Iroquois  and  reduce 
those  pestiferous  savages  to  absolute  harmlessness.  It 
is  suggested  by  some  writers  that  the  French  even  insisted 
upon  the  absolute  extermination  of  the  Iroquois. 

The  comment  of  the  New  England  envoy  upon  this 
miHtant  proposal  is  entitled  to  consideration.  It  was 
that  such  action  would  seem  to  stultify  the  declaration 
of  perpetual  amity  by  compelling  the  two  parties  to  the 
compact  forthwith  to  engage  in  war,  although  against 


70  THE     COMING     CANADA 

a  third  party.  Yet  in  view  of  the  damage  to  life  and 
property  which  those  Indians  were  constantly  inflicting 
upon  the  French,  it  is  not  altogether  surprising  that  the 
latter  should  seek  to  secure  relief  through  the  co-operation 
of  their  proposed  allies.  We  must,  however,  remember 
that  the  Enghsh  settlers  in  New  England  and  New  York 
were  disposed  to  look  rather  leniently  upon  the  depreda- 
tions upon  the  Canadians  by  the  Iroquois,  provided 
their  own  settlements  were  not  molested. 

We  may  pass  with  little  more  than  mention,  the  civil 
war  in  Acadia  about  1647.  Isaac  de  Razilli  had  been 
appointed  governor-general  of  the  three  subdivisions: 
first,  Port  Royal  with  all  the  territory  westward  as  far 
as  New  England  (an  indefinite  line  of  demarcation,  as 
we  know  from  negotiations  in  the  nineteenth  century); 
second,  the  country  between  Port  Royal  and  Canso,  the 
extreme  eastern  end  of  Nova  Scotia;  and  third,  the  rest 
of  Acadia,  from  Canso  to  Gaspe,  Chevalier  de  La  Tour 
and  M.  Denis  being  lieutenant-governors  of  the  second 
and  third.  De  Razilli  no  doubt  committed  an  overt 
and  unfriendly  act  in  taking  possession  of  the  fort  at 
Pemaquid,  on  Booth  Bay,  Maine,  which  the  Massa- 
chusetts colonists  had  built  as  a  storage  place  for  their 
furskins.  This  act  the  New  Englanders  justly  resented, 
and  when  La  Tour  and  de  Charnisey  (who  had  suc- 
ceeded de  Razilli,  after  the  latter's  death)  disagreed 
to  the  point  of  fighting,  they  promptly  acceded  to  La 
Tour's  appeal  for  assistance.  Ohver  Cromwell  also 
took  a  hand  in  an  attempt  to  recover  Acadia;  but  the 
effort  and  its  negative  results  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
attained  international  importance. 


WARS  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND    71 

In  spite  of  the  unsatisfactory  conditions  which  are 
indicated  by  the  minor  episodes  that  have  been  men- 
tioned, and  other  similar  affairs  which  may  be  passed 
over,  the  two  nations,  France  and  England,  maintained 
the  peace  contemplated  by  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain- 
en-Laye  until  1689.  On  the  12th  of  May  in  that  year, 
an  alliance  between  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  William 
III  of  England,  and  the  Dutch  States-general  was 
concluded  at  Vienna;  and  as  a  result  war  was  declared 
between  France  and  England. 

In  1688,  Major,  afterwards  Sir,  Edmund  Andros  was 
appointed  governor  of  New  England  with  New  York 
included  in  his  jurisdiction.  Of  Andros'  character  much 
might  be  said,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  state  here  that  most 
historians  describe  him  as  tyrannical,  vindictive,  and 
implacable  in  his  hatred  of  the  French.  Certainly,  the 
annexation  of  New  York  to  the  neighbouring  colonies 
was  particularly  odious  to  the  people  of  that  colony. 
Andros  is  not  to  be  blamed  for  the  fact,  however  just 
it  may  be  to  criticise  adversely  the  interpretation  he 
put  upon  his  authority  and  powers.  He  followed  the 
policy  of  his  predecessor.  Col.  Richard  Nicolls,  in  his 
treatment  of  the  Indians.  Not  only  did  he  foment 
the  deadly  enmity  of  the  Iroquois  for  the  Canadians, 
but  he  tried,  unsuccessfully,  to  detach  the  Abenaquis 
(Abnakis)  from  their  allegiance  to  the  French. 

''For  this  people  honoured  the  countr>TQen  of  the 
missionaries  who  had  made  the  Gospel  known  to  them, 
and  their  nation  became  a  living  barrier  to  New  France 
on  that  side,  which  no  force  sent  from  New  England 
could  surmount;    insomuch  that  the  Abenaquis,  some 


72  THE     COMING     CANADA 

time  afterwards,  having  crossed  the  borders  of  the 
English  possessions,  and  harassed  the  remoter  colonists, 
the  latter  were  fain  to  apply  to  the  Iroquois  to  enable 
them  to  hold  their  own."  * 

The  retort  of  the  French  was  a  suggestion  of  Chevalier 
de  Callieres  to  Governor  Denonville  that  an  assault  be 
made  upon  New  York.  This  would  divert  invasion  by 
a  direct  attack  upon  the  enemy;  a  popular  device  in 
certain  circumstances.  In  order  to  secure  the  sanction 
and  support  of  the  government  at  Paris,  de  Callieres 
sailed  for  France  to  assure  the  King,  Louis  XIV,  that 
it  was  the  only  way  to  save  Canada  to  France. 

For  several  years  there  had  been  quiet  in  New  France, 
and  incompetent  officials  had  failed  totally  to  compre- 
hend that  the  calm  was  portentous.  A  storm  was 
gathering  and  in  August,  1689,  it  broke.  A  band  of 
I4CX5  Iroquois  warriors  fell  upon  the  little  hamlet  of 
Lachine,  at  the  western  end  of  Montreal  Island,  and  the 
frightful  "Massacre  of  Lachine"  was  perpetrated. 

On  the  1 8th  October,  1689,  de  Frontenac,  accompanied 
by  de  Callieres,  landed  at  Quebec  and  found  himself, 
upon  taking  up  again  the  administration  of  the  colonial 
government,  obliged  to  contend  both  with  the  English 
colonists  and  The  Five  Nations.  Later,  about  17 13, 
the  Tuscaroras  were  received  into  the  Iroquois  con- 
federacy, which  was  thereafter  called  *^ The  Six  Nations." 

France,  in  Europe,  was  now  engaged  in  conflict  with 
other  Five  Nations  at  once.  Great  Britain,  the  German 
Empire,  Holland,  Spain,  and  Savoy;  because  the  Revo- 
cation of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  had  aroused  the  Protestant 

♦  Bell,  Hist,  of  Can. 


WARS  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND   73 

nations  to  action  against  France.*  The  French-Cana- 
dian colonists  had  no  personal  interest  in  that  European 
contest,  but  they  were  expected  to  render  assistance, 
and  did  so,  by  fighting  with  the  New  Englanders,  who, 
on  their  part,  were  but  too  willing  to  attack  New  France. 

De  Callieres'  plan  was  put  into  operation,  and  Admiral 
de  la  Caffiniere,  with  two  men-of-war,  was  ordered  to 
scourge  the  Atlantic  coast  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
to  New  York,  inflicting  whatever  damage  he  could  to 
shipping  and  settlements.  He  was  then  to  blockade 
the  port  of  New  York,  "and  there  wait  the  results  of 
an  invasion  of  the  province,  on  the  land  side,  by  the 
Canadians.  If,  as  was  expected,  the  province  of  New 
York  fell  into  French  hands,  its  Roman  Catholic  inhab- 
itants were  to  be  allowed  to  remain,  after  having  sworn 
fidelity  to  their  new  masters;  but  the  chief  functionaries 
and  principal  colonists  were  to  be  kept  prisoners  till 
they  were  ransomed.  As  for  the  commonalty,  they  were 
to  be  transported  to  New  England  and  Pennsylvania. 
De  Callieres  was  then  to  be  installed  as  governor  of  the 
province."  f 

One  of  the  ghastly  incidents  of  the  campaign  from 
the  north  was  the  assault  and  massacre  at  Schenectady 
(Corlaer)  in  reprisal  for  the  Lachine  Massacre.  Another 
was  the  attack  upon  Salmon  Falls  (New  Hampshire). 
A  third  was  the  expedition  from  Quebec  to  Casco  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  River.  Subsequently  came 
the  renewal  of  attack  upon  Quebec,  and  the  siege  of  that 

*  I  do  not  take  time  to  explain  the  seeming  incongruity  of  Roman 
Catholic  Spain  joining  a  Protestant  coalition  against  France.  She  did 
not  remain  long  in  that  opposition.     J.  K.  G. 

t  Bell,  op.  cit. 


74  THE     COMING     CANADA 

place  by  a  fleet  under  command  of  Sir  William  Phipps, 
a  New  England  born  British  subject,  after  his  capture 
of  Port  Royal  in  1690.  Appearing  before  the  town  on 
the  1 6th  of  October,  he  sent  to  de  Frontenac  a  somewhat 
bombastic  summons  to  surrender.  To  this  the  governor 
returned  a  very  tart  reply  and  the  attack  began:  but 
nothing  important  was  accomplished,  and  after  a  few 
days  the  British  fleet  sailed  away,  October  21st. 

When  Phipps'  ships  opened  the  bombardment  of 
Quebec  the  batteries  in  the  lower  town  promptly  returned 
the  fire  and  fairly  effectively.  ''Some  of  the  first  shots 
fired  brought  down  the  flag  of  Pliipps'  own  vessel. 
Seeing  this,  some  of  the  men  on  shore  swam  out  and 
fished  up  the  prize,  despite  a  discharge  of  small  arms 
directed  on  them  by  the  enemy.  This  flag,  which  was 
afterwards  suspended  to  the  ceiling  of  Quebec  Cathedral, 
as  a  trophy,  there  remained  till  the  edifice  was  consumed 
during  the  siege  of  1759." 

With  the  characteristically  varying  chances  of  w^ar, 
this  conflict  in  North  America  lasted  until  the  Peace  of 
Utrecht.  The  Hudson  Bay  campaign  has  been  already 
alluded  to.  French  historians  claim,  and  this  is  not 
seriously  disputed  by  English  authorities,  that  de  Fron- 
tenac's  energy  and  skill  overcame  all  obstacles;  ''that 
the  war  was  most  glorious  for  the  Canadians,  so  few  in 
number  compared  with  their  adversaries;  and  that, 
far  from  succumbing  to  their  enemies,  they  carried  the 
war  into  the  adversaries'  camp,  and  struck  at  the  heart 
of  their  most  remote  possessions." 

Were  space  available  it  would  be  proper  to  discuss 
other  events  until  "The  Treaty  of  Ryswick"  (September 


WARS     OF     FRANCE     AND     ENGLAND        75 

21,  1697),  which  really  brought  about  no  substantial 
cessation  of  hostihties  between  the  French  and  English 
in  North  America.  The  powerful  fleet  of  warships  and 
transports  carrying  five  regiments,  sent  from  England 
to  Canada  by  way  of  Boston,  in  171 1,  was  to  have 
co-operated  with  a  land  force  of  several  thousand  New 
England  regular  and  irregular  troups,  with  Indian  aUies, 
who  were  to  march  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  all 
combine  for  an  attack  upon  Quebec.  The  fleet,  how- 
ever, met  w^ith  serious  misfortune  almost  immediately 
upon  entering  the  river,  and  what  vessels  escaped  ship- 
wreck returned  home  with  their  own  crews  and  the 
few  who  were  saved  from  the  ships  that  had  been 
driven  on  the  rocks.  When  the  land  forces  heard  of 
the  disaster  that  had  befallen  the  fleet,  they  too  retraced 
their  steps. 

Thus  Canada  was  saved  from  further  invasion  for 
the  time  being,  and  in  January,  1712,  negotiations  for 
peace  were  commenced.  These  were  procrastinated 
until  March,  17 13,  when  the  plenipotentiaries  of  France 
and  Spain  on  one  side,  and  those  of  England,  Holland, 
Prussia,  the  German  States,  Savoy,  and  Denmark, 
signed  the  ''Treaty  of  Utrecht."  It  is  declared  by  some 
writers  that  the  important  matter  of  definite  boundaries 
of  French  and  English  claims  in  North  America  was 
intentionally  left  undecided  in  this  treaty,  in  order  that 
this  omission  might  serve  as  a  pretext  at  any  future 
time  for  going  to  war  again  in  that  part  of  the  world. 
This  seems  hardly  to  be  a  fair  view  of  the  matter.  In 
the  first  place  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  either  England 
of  France  gave  much  concern  to  such  limitations;   and 


76  THE     COMING     CANADA 

in  the  second  place,  neither  one  probably  knew  just 
what  it  did  claim. 

In  the  year  following  the  execution  of  that  treaty, 
France  gave  great  attention  to  fortifying  Louisbourg, 
and  it  is  said  that  the  equivalent  of  something  like  ten 
million  dollars  were  spent  upon  this  undertaking.  The 
place  certainly  was,  after  Quebec,  the  strongest  fortified 
seaport  in  America,  and  when  the  British  forces  under- 
took to  capture  it  in  1745  and  1758  immensely  powerful 
fleets  and  armies  were  fitted  out,  indicating  the  opinion 
strategists  held  of  it. 

In  1744,  France  again  declared  war  and  the  American 
colonies,  both  French  and  British,  were  speedily  involved 
in  the  conflict.  A  force  from  New  England,  militia, 
artisans,  and  farm  hands,  attacked  Louisbourg  and 
secured  its  capitulation,  in  April,  1745-  This  was  in 
retaliation  for  the  capture  and  burning  of  the  British 
settlement  at  Canso  (Canseau),  Acadia,  by  Duquesnel, 
governor  of  Cape  Breton.  The  conquest  of  Louisbourg 
was  due  more  to  lack  of  discipline,  absence  of  competent 
commanders,  and  inharmony  within,  than  because  of 
effective  attack  from  without.  France  made  several 
ineffectual  attempts  to  recover  tliis  important  post, 
which  was,  however,  restored  to  her  by  the  Treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  October,  1748,  much  to  the  disgust  of 
the  New  England  people. 

In  1753  may  be  said  to  have  begun  the  hostilities 
which  were  to  culminate  in  the  expulsion  of  France 
from  North  America.  It  began  through  disputes  as  to 
rights  in  the  Oliio  Valley,  from  which  region  the  French 
strove  to  exclude  English  traders;  wliilc  English  colonists 


WARS  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND    77 

persisted  in  assuming  that  it  was  British  territory.  It 
was  at  this  time  that  George  Washington  made  his 
appearance.  He  was  then  an  officer  in  the  Virginia 
militia  and  only  twenty- two  years  of  age.  But  Wash- 
ington's regrettable  attack  upon  M.  de  Jumonville,  as 
well  as  his  subsequent  discomfiture  at  Fort  Necessity, 
with  many  other  episodes,  must  be  passed  over. 

It  is  well,  however,  for  the  reader,  who  wishes  to 
understand  clearly  the  details  of  this  final  conflict  be- 
tween France  and  Great  Britain  in  North  America,  to 
know  something  about  the  various  posts  held  by  the 
contending  parties;  from  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  to 
Louisbourg  on  Isle  Royale  (Cape  Breton  Island).  Also 
of  the  many  frontier  forts  from  Lake  Champlain  through 
New  York  to  the  Lakes  and  down  into  the  Ohio  Valley 
at  Duquesne  (on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Pittsburg: 
a  part  of  the  old  fort  is  still  standing).  This  was  the 
nearest  to  the  British  posts.  Fort  Necessity  and  Fort 
Cumberland,  on  the  Potomac  River.  Also  the  French 
posts  along  the  north  shores  of  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie, 
and  those  which  served  to  keep  open  the  line  of  com- 
munications between  the  Lakes  and  the  first  outpost 
of  Louisiana,  Fort  de  Chartres. 

Montreal  was  scarcely  furnished  with  any  fortifications 
at  all.  ''The  city  has  notliing  but  a  terraced  wall,  built 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  preventing  a  surprise  or  coup  de 
main,  and  quite  incapable  of  resisting  artillery."  Quebec 
was,  however,  considered  by  the  French  to  be  virtually 
impregnable. 

The  plan  of  campaign  decided  upon  after  Gen.  Brad- 
dock's  arrival  in  1754  to  take  supreme  command,  was 


78  THE     COMING     CANADA 

to  despatch  four  expeditions:  the  first  to  the  Valley  of 
the  Ohio;  the  second  against  Fort  Niagara,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river;  the  third  to  Lake  Champlain,  with  the 
intention  of  capturing  Crown  Point;  and  the  fourth  to 
drive  the  French  from  those  parts  of  Acadia  which 
remained  in  their  possession. 

The  French  resolved  upon  counter  attacks.  One  of 
these  was  to  drive  the  EngHsh  back  from  the  south 
shore  of  Lake  Ontario  by  a  furious  rush  against  Oswego. 
All  commanding  officers  at  military  posts  throughout 
French  territory  were  instructed  to  be  vigilant  and,  in 
case  of  attack,  to  maintain  their  position  to  the  last 
extremities. 

Because  of  ^'Braddock's  Defeat,"  as  his  failure  is 
commonly  called,  the  second  of  the  English  expeditions 
hkewise  failed  to  accomplish  its  purpose.  That  against 
Crown  Point  was  partly  successful;  while  the  Acadian 
enterprise  was  entirely  so;  the  forts  surrendering  with 
scarcely  a  pretence  of  resistance.  As  one  of  the  conse- 
quences of  this  British  success,  came  the  deportation 
of  the  Acadians.  Of  Longfellow's  use  of  this  episode 
in  his  poem,  Evangeline,  nothing  need  be  said;  but  a 
more  practical  aspect  of  it  is  one  that  is  not  so  well 
known.  "Scarcely  had  the  Anglo-American  troops  dis- 
charged the  lamentable  duties  which  had  been  assigned 
to  them,  when  the  soldiers  were  struck  with  horror  at 
their  situation.  Standing  surrounded  by  rich  and  well- 
cultivated  fields,  they  found  themselves,  nevertheless,  in 
the  midst  of  profound  sohtude.  They  beheld  no  enemy 
to  attack,  no  friend  to  succour.  Volumes  of  smoke 
ascending  from  the  sites  of  the  burnt  habitations  marked 


WARS  or  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND    79 

the  spots  where,  a  few  days  before,  happy  families  dwelt. 
Domestic  animals,  as  if  seeking  the  return  of  their  mas- 
ters, gathered  and  moved  uneasily  around  the  smoking 
ruins.  During  the  long  nights  the  watch-dogs  howled 
among  the  scenes  of  desolation,  and  uttered  plaintive 
sounds,  as  if  to  recall  their  ancient  protectors  and  the 
roofs  under  which  they  had  been  sheltered."  * 

The  campaign  of  1755  was,  in  its  general  results,  not 
unfavourable  to  the  French.  They  were  undisputed 
masters  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  and  they  still  held  their 
positions  at  Niagara  and  Crown  Point.  The  most 
disastrous  effect  of  the  campaign  upon  the  English 
came  as  a  consequence  of  Braddock's  defeat;  because 
during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1755  and  1756,  war- 
parties,  composed  for  the  most  part  of  Indians,  went 
from  Fort  Duquesne  to  ravage  the  settlements  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia.  The  English  colonists  were  most 
cruelly  treated:  more  than  a  thousand  of  them,  men, 
women,  and  children,  were  killed  or  carried  into  captivity 
that  was  worse  than  death. 

The  economic  condition  of  the  French  colony  was  at 
that  time  most  unsatisfactory.  The  Intendant  Bigot 
and  his  creatures  were  administering  affairs  solely  for 
their  own  pecuniary  benefit,  and  prices  of  food  stuffs 
were  raised  by  Bigot,  who  had  the  power  to  fix  prices, 
until  the  common  people  could  scarcely  buy  anything. 
As  for  government  stores,  including  suppHes  for  the 
army  and  navy,  ammunition,  etc.,  the  rapacity  of  these 
leeches  was  insatiable. 

After  Gen.  Dieskau  had  been  defeated  at  Fort  Carillon 
*  Ferland  et  Laverdiere,  Cours  d'histaire  du  Canada. 


8o  THE    COMING    CANADA 

(Ticonderoga)  by  Gen.  Johnson,  the  French  officers 
reported  to  the  Home  Government  that  their  effective 
force  of  regulars  was  reduced  to  1680  men,  and  they 
added  most  discouraging  statements  about  the  colony. 
The  French  Government  responded  by  sending  one 
thousand  regular  troops  and  over  a  million  and  a  quarter 
francs  in  money.  With  these  soldiers  and  supplies  there 
came  to  Canada  the  famous  General,  De  Montcalm,  and 
in  his  staff  were  a  number  of  distinguished  officers. 

Montcalm  promptly  decided  to  carry  out  the  plan 
of  attacking  Oswego,  and  this  was  successfully  accom- 
plished, the  result  adding  greatly  to  his  prestige.  In 
1757,  the  French  captured  Fort  William  Henry,  on  Lake 
Champlain,  and  the  English  were  subjected  to  all  the 
horrors  of  Indian  warfare.  In  1758,  Louisbourg  was 
taken  by  the  English  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Wolfe, 
and  then  Montcalm  began  to  realise  that  the  dreams  of 
generations  of  Frenchmen  of  establishing  the  trans- 
Atlantic  "Empire  of  New  France"  were  never  to  become 
anything  tangible. 

There  were,  to  be  sure,  some  successes  by  the  French 
arms,  but  they  were  not  sufficient  to  check  the  tide  of 
defeat.  In  1759,  it  may  be  said,  France  abandoned 
the  colony  to  its  fate;  that  is,  to  fight  for  its  own  exist- 
ence. Most  of  the  Indian  allies  had  been  seduced  from 
their  allegiance  to  the  French;  frontier  posts  had  been 
captured  by  the  British  or  abandoned  by  the  French, 
and  slowly  but  surely  the  war  was  narrowing  down  to 
the  short  stretch  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River  from  Quebec 
to  Montreal. 

The  naval  contingent  furnished  to  effect  the  capture 


WARS     OF     FRANCE     AND     ENGLAND        8l 

of  Quebec  comprised  a  fleet  of  fifty  vessels,  commanded 
by  Admirals  Saunders,  Holmes,  and  Durell;  the  fighting 
force  consisting  of  7600  regulars  and  1000  marines.  On 
land,  Wolfe  —  then  only  about  thirty-two  years  of  age 
—  was  in  supreme  command  as  Major-General,  and 
under  him  were  Brigadier- Generals  Monckton,  Town- 
shend,  and  Murray.  There  were  eight  full  regiments  of 
the  line,  two  battalions  of  Royal  Americans,  companies 
of  light  infantry,  grenadiers,  engineers,  artillerymen, 
and  some  more  marines.  For  a  full  account  of  the  siege 
of  Quebec,  the  reader  must  refer  to  some  other  authority, 
in  which  all  the  intensely  interesting  episodes  are  given 
in  deserved  detail;  it  is  too  long  to  insert  here. 

Montcalm  refused  to  be  drawn  from  his  fortifications 
until  that  memorable  scaling  of  the  clifi's  by  the  British 
troops,  who  made  their  way  up  from  the  river  by  what 
was  assumed  to  be  an  impassable  trail.  Then  the 
French  were  compelled  to  leave  their  fortifications, 
being  threatened  in  their  rear,  and  there  ensued  the 
battle  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  September  13,  1759,  in 
which  both  commanders  lost  their  lives. 

Although  not  strictly  the  end  of  the  war,  nor  indeed 
of  French  offensive,  that  battle  put  the  seal  upon  New 
France's  fate.  Quebec  was  surrendered  to  the  British 
on  September  18,  1759;  but  in  the  following  winter  the 
new  garrison  was  in  rather  sore  straits;  not  so  much  for 
want  of  supplies,  but  because  of  the  rigorous  chmate 
to  which  the  British  were  not  enured.  The  troops  suf- 
fered much  more,  on  account  of  necessary  exposure, 
than  did  the  supernumeraries  and  the  women. 

Chevalier  de  Levis,  upon  whom  devolved  the  chief 


82  THE     COMING     CANADA 

command  of  the  French  after  Montcalm's  death,  harassed 
the  British;  and  there  was  considerable  fighting  the 
next  year,  the  French  essaying  to  re-capture  Quebec. 
On  April  28,  1760,  the  battle  of  Sainte  Foye,  some- 
times called  ''The  second  battle  of  the  Plains  of  Abra- 
ham," was  fought.  The  French  were  victorious;  but 
were  not  able  to  follow  up  their  success  with  the  re- 
capture of  the  town.  De  Levis  besieged  Quebec  for 
eighteen  days,  until  May  17th.  On  the  9th  of  May, 
however,  it  began  to  look  very  dubious  for  the  French, 
because  a  British  warship  appeared  below  the  place. 
On  the  15th,  the  first  division  of  the  fleet  came  up  the 
river,  and  on  the  17  th  arrangements  were  made  to  raise 
the  siege;  de  Levis  retiring  to  Montreal.  In  September 
that  place  capitulated,  upon  honourable  terms,  and  thus 
ended  the  French  regime  in  Canada.  The  resident 
population,  although  chagrined  as  to  the  failure  of 
French  arms,  were  not  at  all  displeased  to  be  relieved 
from  the  burdens  of  active  warfare,  even  if  it  did  mean 
their  transfer  from  French  to  English  allegiance.  The 
active  military  forces  and  the  civil  authorities  who 
decHned  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  King  George 
II  were  sent  to  France.  The  war  in  Europe  continued 
until  near  the  end  of  1762.  Negotiations  for  peace 
were  then  entered  upon  with  such  favourable  results 
and  prehminaries  were  so  promptly  agreed  upon,  that 
on  February  10,  1763,  the  Treaty  of  Paris  was  signed 
by  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Spain. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  DOMINION  OF  CANADA 

KING  GEORGE  II,  who  was  on  the  throne  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  when  the  French  regime  in 
Canada  ended,  died  on  the  25th  of  October,  1760,  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  George  HI.  The  latter  issued 
a  proclamation  on  the  7  th  of  October,  1763,  which  was 
intended  to  give  vitality  to  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of 
Paris,  February  loth  of  that  year.  In  this  document  he 
constituted  ''within  the  countries  and  islands,  ceded 
and  confirmed  to  Us  by  the  said  treaty,  four  distinct 
and  separate  governments,  styled  and  called  by  the 
names  of  Quebec,  East  Florida,  West  Florida,  and 
Grenada."  We  have  to  do  only  with  the  first  of  these; 
yet  it  may  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  ''the  govern- 
ment of  Grenada  was  in  the  West  Indies,  and  the  govern- 
ments of  East  and  West  Florida,  excluding  a  debatable 
strip  of  territory  which  was  annexed  to  the  State  of 
Georgia,  were  co-extensive  with  the  new  province  which 
had  been  acquired  from  Spain."  * 

The  student  who  thinks  of  Canada  as  the  great 
dominion  which  it  now  is,  will  be  surprised  when  he 
looks  at  a  map  of  the  Government  of  Quebec  for  which 
that    proclamation    provided.     Towards    Labrador,    it 

*  A  History  of  Canada  1763-1812.  Sir  C.  P.  Lucas,  K.C.M.G.,  C.B. 
1909. 


84  THE     COMING     CANADA 

was  bounded  by  the  river  St.  John,  a  small  stream  which 
empties  into  the  St.  Lawrence  opposite  the  western  end 
of  Anticosti  Island.  From  the  headwaters  of  the  St. 
John  a  straight  line  was  drawn  to  the  southern  end  of 
Lake  Nipissing,  passing  through  Lake  St.  John,  whence 
issues  the  Saguenay  River.  It  may  be  remarked  that 
as  a  geographical  or  surveyor's  feat,  this  is  impossible. 
It  was  manifestly  the  intention  to  have  this  line  approxi- 
mately parallel  to  the  St.  Lawrence  River.  From 
Nipissing,  the  line  turned  sharply  to  the  southeast  and 
crossed  the  St.  Lawrence  some  distance  above  Montreal, 
at  about  the  present  town  of  Cornwall.  Then  it  fol- 
lowed the  45th  parallel  of  North  Latitude,  across  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Champlain,  across  Lake  Memphre- 
magog  and  the  headwaters  of  the  St.  Thomas  River  to 
**The  Land's  Height;"  that  is  the  watershed  between 
the  lower  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Atlantic  basins,  to  the 
Restigouche  River,  which  is  followed  to  the  head  of 
Chaleur  Bay,  and  along  its  north  shore  to  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence.  The  government  included  Gaspe  Penin- 
sula; but  excluded  Anticosti  Island,  which,  together 
with  all  the  Labrador  country  east  of  the  St.  John  River 
and  northward  to  Hudson  Strait,  was  placed  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Newfoundland.  Practically,  then,  this 
government  was  about  the  same  as  the  province  of 
Quebec  until  greatly  enlarged  two  years  ago. 

The  territory  which  subsequently  —  for  a  short  time 
—  came  to  be  known  as  British  America,  was  not  an 
acquisition  to  the  British  Empire  that  was  gained  with- 
out a  struggle.  British  Canada  was  not  born  without 
severe  pains  of  parturition,  and  the  Dominion  did  not 


THE     DOMINION     OF     CANADA  85 

attain  maturity  without  ills  in  childhood  and  adolescence. 
Nor  was  its  development  into  what  it  is,  geographically, 
to-day  an  absolutely  peaceful  progress  of  events.  Prob- 
ably the  record  of  ills  and  struggles  which  mark  its 
history  from  1763  to  1867  and  again  from  that  latter 
year  until  the  present  time,  have  had  much  to  do  with 
moulding  the  character  of  the  people. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  this  Government  of 
Quebec  is  all  there  was  of  Canada  in  1763.  Cape  Breton 
Island,  St.  John's  Island  (now  Prince  Edward's),  New 
Brunswick,  and  Nova  Scotia  were  already  in  a  separate 
government  styled  the  Government  of  Nova  Scotia. 
The  northern  limit  of  the  province  of  Canada  marched 
with  the  boundary  of  Rupert's  Land,  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  yet  reckoned  a 
part  of  the  imperial  domain. 

Canada  did  not,  therefore,  in  1763  really  extend  west  of 
the  western  boundary  of  this  Government  of  Quebec ;  for 
no  provision  had  been  made  for  administering  the  great 
territory  which  included  the  whole  basin  of  the  Great 
Lakes  and  reached  thence  down  to  the  Mississippi  River. 

Although  issued  in  October,  1763,  the  proclamation 
did  not  reach  America  and  become  operative  until 
August  10,  1764.  Inasmuch  as  the  document  made 
no  mention  of  the  great  country  west  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  which  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  other 
colonies  claimed  with  practically  no  western  limits  until 
the  shores  of  the  Pacific  were  reached,  the  proclamation 
was  far  from  being  satisfactory  to  the  Atlantic  coast 
colonies;  that  is  New  England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia. 


86  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Within  Quebec  itself,  too,  the  proclamation  was  calcu- 
lated to  do  much  harm,  and  scarcely  any  good.  For 
while  religious  liberty  was  guaranteed  to  all  the  inhab- 
itants, yet  an  oath  was  required  in  certain  circumstances 
which,  it  will  presently  be  seen,  no  Roman  Catholic  could 
possibly  take.  The  governor  was  ordered  to  summon  a 
general  assembly  '4n  such  manner  and  form  as  is  used 
and  directed  in  those  colonies  and  provinces  in  America 
which  are  under  Our  immediate  government,"  as  soon  as 
the  state  and  circumstances  of  the  colony  admitted. 

Yet  persons  who  might  be  elected  to  serve  in  such 
an  assembly  were  required,  before  they  could  sit  and 
vote,  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  and 
sign  a  solemn  declaration  against  the  doctrines  of  tran- 
substantiation,  the  adoration  of  the  Virgin,  and  the 
Sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  This  effectually  excluded  the 
men  of  the  seventy  thousand  French-Canadian  Roman 
Catholics,  and  would  leave  the  government  in  the  hands 
of  the  Protestants,  who  then  numbered,  men,  women, 
and  children,  only  about  three  hundred  souls.  Further- 
more, the  governor  was  authorised,  until  the  afore- 
mentioned assembly  could  be  called,  to  create  courts 
for  the  trial  and  determination  of  all  civil  and  criminal 
cases,  "according  to  law  and  equity,  and  as  near  as  may 
be  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  England."  This  was  a 
measure  extremely  offensive  to  the  French  people:  to 
the  Romanists  on  the  ground  of  religious  discrimination; 
to  the  few  French  Protestants  because  of  loyalty  to  their 
compatriots. 

Just  about  this  time,  in  1766,  Gen.  Murray,  who  had 
been  in  Canada  since  Wolfe's  arrival,  and  in  command 


THE     DOMINION     OF     CANADA  87 

after  the  Battle  of  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  was  made 
provisional  governor  by  royal  warrant.  He  gave  his 
approval  to  the  election  by  the  chapter  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  Quebec  of  Monsigneur  Briand  to  be  the 
Bishop  of  the  newly  created  Government.  This  was  a 
most  politic  measure;  it  went  a  long  way  towards  recon- 
ciling the  French  Canadians  to  their  changed  conditions, 
and  it  led  them  to  think  that  in  time  they  might  receive 
full  consideration  in  other  important  matters. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  in  the  ten  years 
which  followed  the  creation  of  the  bishopric  of  Quebec, 
the  British  Government  was  greatly  concerned  about 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  English  colonies  south  of 
Canada.  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  again  from 
that  eminent  historian  Sir  C.  P.  Lucas:  ''It  was  said 
of  the  Spartans  that  warring  was  their  salvation  and 
ruling  was  their  ruin.  The  saying  holds  true  of  various 
peoples  and  races  in  history.  A  militant  race  has  often 
proved  to  be  deficient  in  the  qualities  which  ensure 
stable,  just,  and  permanent  government;  and  in  such 
cases,  when  peace  supervenes  on  war,  an  era  of  decline 
and  fall  begins  for  those  whom  fighting  has  made  great. 
But  even  when  a  conquering  race  has  capacity  for  gov- 
ernment, there  come  times  in  its  career  when  Aristotle's 
dictum  in  part  holds  good.  It  applied,  to  some  extent, 
to  the  EngUsh  in  North  America.  As  long  as  they  were 
faced  by  the  French  on  the  western  continent,  common 
danger  and  common  effort  held  the  mother  country 
and  the  colonies  together.  Security  against  a  foreign 
foe  brought  difficulties  which  ended  in  civil  war,  and  the 
Peace  of  1763  was  the  beginning  of  dissolution." 


88  THE     COMING     CANADA 

In  the  circumstances,  it  is  hardly  surprising  that  the 
Home  Government  could  not  give  sufficient  attention 
to  its  newest  American  colony,  and  that,  as  a  consequence, 
conditions  in  Canada  were  far  from  being  satisfactory 
to  all  interested  parties.  There  was  every  disposition 
on  the  part  of  the  British  Secretariat  of  Colonial  Affairs 
to  do  for  Canada  whatever  might  be  for  the  good  of  all. 
It  meant,  of  course,  a  blending  of  English  and  French 
laws  in  a  manner  that  was  an  exceedingly  difficult  matter 
at  times. 

The  Quebec  Act  of  1774  was  a  most  important  law 
passed  by  the  British  parHament,  and  it  ''has  always 
been  considered  the  charter  of  the  special  privileges 
which  the  French  Canadians  have  enjoyed  ever  since, 
and  which,  in  the  course  of  a  century,  made  their  province 
one  of  the  most  influential  sections  of  British  North 
America."  * 

The  preamble  of  that  Act  made  radical  changes  in 
the  extent  and  boundaries  of  the  former  Government  of 
Quebec.  Eastward,  it  was  made  to  include  all  that 
portion  of  the  mainland  (Labrador)  which  had  previ- 
ously been  assigned  to  Newfoundland.  To  the  west 
and  southwest,  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  regions  were 
included,  so  that  the  older  colonies'  claims  were  now 
delimited  at  the  crest  of  the  Appalachians.  This  action 
roused  much  protest  from  the  colonies  which  had  asserted 
a  right  to  territory  westward  perhaps  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  their  cause  was  championed  by  the  Earl  of 
Chatham,  William  Pitt,  who  had  assumed  to  make 
himself  the  advocate  for  the  older  colonies. 

•  Bourinot,  op.  cit. 


THE    DOMINION     OF     CANADA  89 

It  was  considered  inexpedient  just  then  to  convoke 
a  general  assembly  for  Quebec,  and  accordingly  the 
administration  of  the  province  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  governor  and  legislative  council,  the  latter  com- 
posed of  twenty-three  members,  residents  of  the  province. 
Both  governor  and  council  were  to  be  appointed  by 
the  sovereign.  Sir  Guy  Carleton  was  the  first  governor 
under  the  Quebec  Act.  He  returned  to  Canada  from 
England  in  September,  1774,  but  the  legislative  council 
associated  with  him  was  not  appointed  until  the  follow- 
ing August.  Among  its  twenty-two  members  were  eight 
French  Canadians  whose  names  appear  conspicuously 
in  the  contemporaneous  history  of  Quebec  Province. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  council  was  held  on  the  17th 
of  August,  1775,  but  it  was  compelled  to  adjourn  on  the 
7th  of  the  following  month  because  of  the  invasion  of 
Canada  by  troops  of  the  Continental  Congress  from  the 
thirteen  colonies  then  in  open  revolt,  but  not  yet  fight- 
ing for  Independence. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  War  for  American 
Independence;  yet  a  calm  and  dispassionate  view  of  it 
in  the  light  of  history,  compels  the  admission  that  had 
there  been  energy  and  ability  in  the  British  leaders,  the 
result  (that  is  victory  for  the  United  States)  would  have 
been  greatly  deferred,  or  the  war  would  have  involved 
more  of  Europe  than  it  did.  As  it  was,  during  the  last 
years  of  the  war,  Great  Britain  was  compelled  to  fight 
not  only  the  American  colonies,  openly  assisted  by 
France,  but  France,  Spain,  and  Holland  as  well;  and 
in  all  Europe,  Great  Britain  had  not  a  single  ally.  It 
was  a  condition  of  affairs  which  amply  justifies  the 


go  THE     COMING     CANADA 

declaration  of  all  patriotic  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
that  the  God  of  battles  was  on  the  side  of  their  fore- 
fathers from  1775  to  1783.  In  the  success  of  the  three 
millions  of  people  armed  in  the  sacred  cause  of  Liberty, 
we  must  recognise  the  hand  of  Providence,  or  else  we 
must  impugn  the  sincerity  of  the  British  statesmen  and 
commanders,  by  declaring  that  they  were  not  fighting 
to  win. 

But  we  must  give  some  thought  to  the  connection  of 
the  War  of  American  Independence  with  Canada.  Great 
Britain  had  no  reason  to  thank  her  sovereign  or  his 
ministers  for  saving  Canada  in  1775.  The  credit  for 
that  was  due  only  to  the  sentiment  of  the  colonists  them- 
selves and  to  the  calmness  and  good  judgment  of  Gov. 
Carleton.  The  lack  of  policy  in  coupling  the  Quebec 
Act  in  parliament  with  the  obnoxious  Boston  Port  Bill, 
and  other  measures  especially  intended  for  the  discom- 
fiture of  Massachusetts,  amounted  to  crass  stupidity. 
All  the  colonists,  save  the  Loyalists  (a  very  large  pro- 
portion, it  must  be  admitted),  looked  upon  this  group 
of  parliamentary  measures  as  indicating  a  fixed  policy 
of  the  British  Government  to  crush  the  English-speak- 
ing colonists  in  North  America.  The  invasion  of  Canada 
by  Benedict  Arnold  in  1775  was,  therefore,  a  very 
popular  effort  with  all  revolutionists  in  the  older  colonies. 
Chambly  and  St.  John's,  the  keys  of  Canada  by  the 
way  of  Lake  Champlain,  were  captured  and  Montreal 
surrendered.  The  governor  retired  to  Quebec,  and 
there  made  preparations  for  a  vigorous  defence. 

Just  at  this  critical  moment  Bishop  Briand  issued  an 
episcopal  letter  in  which  he  drew  the  attention  of  the 


THE    DOMINION     OF     CANADA  QI 

French  Canadians  to  the  many  benefits  they  had  derived 
from  British  rule,  and  he  called  upon  his  followers  to 
unite  with  the  English  in  defending  the  province.  The 
effect  of  this  monition  was  excellent  (from  the  British 
point  of  view)  and  rendered  totally  ineffective  the  effort 
of  Chase,  Franklin,  and  the  Carrolls  of  Maryland  to 
persuade  the  Roman  Catholic  French  in  Canada  to 
give  their  support  to  the  revolutionary  colonists.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  many  individual 
habitants  gave  material  assistance  to  the  colonial  in- 
vaders; yet  this  was  entirely  a  sordid  matter. 

"The  Fourteenth  Colony"  was  saved  to  Great  Britain, 
and  it  is  probable  that  few  even  patriotic  Americans 
now  regret  it.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
many  who  are  called  United  Empire  Loyahsts  left  the 
United  States  and  settled  in  Canada;  others  went  back 
to  England.  Their  loss  was  a  serious  one  to  the  new 
nation,  for  as  a  rule  they  were  people  of  substantial 
means. 

After  the  Revolution,  when  Canada's  independence 
of  the  United  States  was  assured,  the  development  of 
representative  institutions  was  rapid.  The  provinces 
of  New  Brunswick,  Lower  and  Upper  Canada  were 
created:  the  first  on  August  i6,  1784,  the  other  two  on 
March  7,  1791.  The  progress  of  political  development 
in  Canada,  from  1792  to  181 2,  was  not  absolutely  peace- 
ful, and  there  were  premonitions  of  that  racial  strife 
—  between  the  weak  French  majority  and  the  strong 
British  minority  —  which  later  caused  serious  trouble. 

The  statesmen  and  historians  of  Canada  look  upon 
the  war  of  18 12  with  anything  but  a  kindly  feeling,  and 


92  THE     COMING     CANADA 

with  satisfaction  that  the  attempt  to  conquer  their 
country  was  so  unsuccessful.  After  that  unpleasant 
episode,  the  development  of  Canada  was  rapid,  although 
as  long  ago  as  1789  Chief  Justice  Smith,  first  president 
of  the  legislative  council  of  Lower  Canada,  wrote  to 
Lord  Dorchester  (Sir  Guy  Carleton  had  been  raised  to 
the  peerage  with  that  title),  sketching  a  plan  for  uniting 
all  the  provinces  of  British  North  America  under  one 
general  administration.  Other  Canadian  statesmen  and 
jurists  expressed  themselves  as  in  favour  of  such  a 
movement  and  gradually  the  desire  for  fusion  came  to 
be  something  more  tangible  than  merely  ''in  the  air." 

In  1 86 1  the  maritime  provinces.  Nova  Scotia,  New 
Brunswick,  and  Prince  Edward  Island,  took  active 
measures  to  effect  union;  and  in  1864  a  convention  was 
called  at  Charlottetown,  P.E.I. ,  to  arrange  for  this. 
Canada  sent  a  delegation  and  to  its  representations  of 
the  desirability  of  the  larger  scheme,  of  union  of  all  the 
provinces,  favourable  consideration  was  given.  In  1864 
a  general  convention  at  Quebec  passed  seventy-two 
resolutions  which  formed  the  basis  of  the  Act  of  Union, 
subsequently  passed  by  the  imperial  parliament,  West- 
minster. 

Addresses  supporting  the  resolutions  to  Queen  Victoria 
were  submitted  to  the  legislature  of  Canada  in  1863,  and 
passed  by  large  majorities.  The  progress  towards  com- 
plete union  was  not  absolutely  clear  and  free;  but  there 
is  not  space  to  consider  all  the  difficulties.  On  the  17th 
of  February,  1867,  a  bill  entitled  ''An  Act  for  the  Union 
of  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  New  Brunswick,  and  the 
Government  thereof,  and  for  purposes  connected  there- 


THE     DOMINION     OF     CANADA  93 

With,"  was  submitted  to  the  British  House  of  Lords  by 
the  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  then  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Colonies.  It  passed  both  houses  with  but  little  dis- 
cussion, and  on  March  29th  received  Queen  Victoria's 
signature  as  "The  British  North  America  Act,  1867." 

The  Dominion  of  Canada  thereupon  stepped  into  the 
list  of  the  federal  states  of  the  world  on  July  ist,  1867, 
when  the  Act  was  promulgated  throughout  all  the 
interested  provinces.  British  Columbia  held  back  for 
a  time,  until  given  assurance  of  railway  connection  with 
the  eastern  provinces.  Prince  Edward  Island  was  for 
a  time  outside  the  Dominion,  and  the  great  North  West 
Territories  remained  to  be  organised.  In  187 1,  British 
Columbia  threw  in  her  lot  with  her  sisters;  in  1873, 
Prince  Edward  Island  followed  suit;  and  gradually  the 
organisation  of  all  British  possessions  on  the  continent 
of  North  America,  save  the  little  strip  of  Labrador 
littoral  which  is  still  politically  annexed  to  Newfound- 
land and  excepting,  too,  the  great  island  itself,  came 
into  the  list,  and  the  administration  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  was  perfected. 


CHAPTER  Vn 

THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  CANADA  AND  COGNATE 

SUBJECTS 

OTTAWA,  the  capital  of  the  Dominion,  is  one  of 
the  most  attractive  cities  in  North  America,  but 
in  its  physical  and  social  aspects  it  will  be  considered 
in  a  later  chapter.  The  place  dates  from  the  year  1826 
only.  At  that  time  Col.  By,  of  the  Royal  Engineers, 
commenced  the  cutting  of  the  Rideau  Canal,  which 
connects  the  Ottawa  River  with  the  St.  Lawrence  at 
Kingston.  This  canal  makes  use  of  the  chain  of  lakes 
and  small  streams  which  intervene  between  the  two 
greater  rivers. 

The  little  hamlet  which  naturally  sprang  up  and 
gave  shelter  and  habitation  to  the  force  of  workmen, 
was  at  first  called  By  town;  but  this  name  was  changed 
before  long  to  Ottavra.  It  owes  its  promotion  to  the 
dignity  of  being  first  the  colonial  and  then  the  dominion 
capital  to  circumstances  that  were  not  altogether  cred- 
itable. 

When  the  union  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  was 
effected  in  1840,  Kingston  was  made  the  provincial 
capital.  After  a  while  the  seat  of  government  was 
transferred  to  Montreal,  and  that  city  held  the  honour 
for  some  time.  But  while  parliament  was  sitting  at 
Montreal,  a  bill  was  passed  which  provided  for  compen- 


THE     GOVERNMENT     OF     CANADA         95 

sation  for  damages  unflicted  upon  those  whose  property 
had  been  destroyed  or  injured  during  ''the  patriots' 
rebellions." 

There  were  two  of  these  unpleasant  episodes.  The 
first  broke  out  in  Lower  Canada  soon  after  the  close  of 
the  war  of  181 2-1 5,  and  culminated  under  the  leadership 
of  Louis  J.  Papineau  in  1837.  The  second  was  in  the 
following  year,  and  occurred  in  Upper  Canada.  Both 
were  in  the  nature  of  turbulent  protest  by  the  French 
Canadians  against  what  demagogues  led  them  to  believe 
was  unfair  and  unlawful  race  discrimination.  The  first 
was  for  some  time  a  very  serious  matter,  causing  — 
directly  or  indirectly  —  the  loss  of  many  lives  and  the 
destruction  or  injury  of  much  property:  the  second  was 
less  important  and  was  promptly  suppressed. 

In  1839,  the  special  council  of  Lower  Canada  and  the 
legislature  of  Upper  Canada,  passed  acts  providing  for 
the  compensation  of  those  loyal  inhabitants  of  these 
provinces  who  had  sustained  loss  during  the  rebellions 
and  because  of  those  outbreaks.  Eventually  a  com- 
mission was  appointed  to  consider  the  claims,  and  it 
reported  favourably  upon  a  considerable  number  of 
them.  Inasmuch  as  the  Treasury  funds  did  not  permit 
of  an  appropriation  in  money,  provision  was  made  for 
paying  those  approved  claims  by  the  issue  of  debentures 
to  the  amount  of  $400,000.  The  bill  was  passed  by  the 
legislature  by  a  large  majority  and  Lord  Elgin,  then 
Governor-General,  signed  it  on  April  25,  1849,  ^-nd 
affixed  the  great  seal.  The  bonds  were  promptly  taken 
up  and  it  looked  as  if  all  were  going  well.  Suddenly, 
however,  a  fierce  storm  of  opposition  broke  out.    A  mob 


g6  THE    COMING    CANADA 

insulted  the  Governor-General  and  even  threatened  his 
life.  It  broke  into  and  practically  destroyed  the  house 
of  parliament  —  which  had  formerly  been  St.  Anne 
Market  House  —  and  with  it  the  State  papers  and  many 
precious  relics,  valuable  books,  pictures,  etc. 

Montreal  could  no  longer  be  permitted  the  dignity  of 
being  the  capital,  and  the  seat  of  legislature  became 
peripatetic  for  five  years,  meeting  alternately  at  Toronto 
and  Quebec.  When  Queen  Victoria  was  requested  to 
designate  a  fixed  capital,  she  chose  Ottawa,  in  1857. 
The  place  had  grown  to  be  a  lumber  town  of  some  impor- 
tance, but  the  situation  is  such  a  splendid  one  that  all 
concurred  in  approving  the  wisdom  of  Her  Majesty's 
choice.  In  these  incidents,  we  have  a  very  clear  hint 
at  the  progress  of  the  great  Dominion  development;  and 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  there  has  been  much 
of  storm  and  stress. 

A  brief  summary  of  the  original  elements  of  the 
Canadian  State,  and  its  development  into  the  Dominion, 
is  advisable.  At  first  there  were  Upper  and  Lower 
Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  New  Brunswick,  created  under 
the  Act  of  March,  1867.  Provision  was  made  in  the  Act 
for  a  constitution  ^'similar  in  principle  to  that  of  the 
United  Kingdom."  The  executive  authority  is  vested  in 
the  sovereign  of  Great  Britain,  and  it  is  carried  on  in  his  * 
name  by  a  Governor- General  and  a  Privy  Council.  The 
legislative  power  is  exercised  by  a  Parliament  of  two 
houses,  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Commons. 

*  The  Salic  Law  not  having  been  adopted  by  Great  Britain,  the 
masculine  pronoun  includes  the  feminine,  as  is  provided  in  all  laws,  I 
believe.     J.  K.  G. 


THE     GOVERNMENT     OF     CANADA         97 

Provision  was  made  for  the  admission  of  Prince 
Edward  Island  and  British  Columbia,  the  North  West 
Territories,  and  Newfoundland.  As  has  been  stated, 
Newfoundland  is  the  only  one  of  these  which  has  not 
availed  itself  of  this  privilege,  and  it  is  not  likely  to  do 
so.  In  1869,  the  great  North  West  Territories  were 
admitted  into  British  North  America  by  purchase  from 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  From  a  portion  of  this 
acquisition,  the  province  of  Manitoba  was  created  and 
admitted  into  the  confederation  on  July  15th,  1870. 
On  May  i6th,  1871,  Prince  Edward  Island  was  admitted 
by  an  Imperial  Order  in  Council  (London)  and  British 
Columbia  on  July  20th,  187 1. 

Certain  other  provisional  districts  were  created  out 
of  the  southern  portions  of  the  purchase  from  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Alberta,  Athabaska,  Assini- 
boia,  and  Saskatchewan.  These  were  later  combined 
into  the  two  provinces  of  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan, 
wliich  were  admitted  into  the  Dominion  on  Septem- 
ber I,  1905. 

The  Dominion  Senators  are  appointed  for  hfe  ''by 
summons  of  the  Governor-General  under  the  Great 
Seal  of  Canada."  Provisions  for  their  impeachment  for 
cause  and  cancelling  of  their  appointment  are  made. 
There  are  now  87  Senators,  24  from  Ontario,  24  from 
Quebec,  10  from  Nova  Scotia,  10  from  New  Bruns- 
wick, 4  from  Manitoba',  3  from  British  Columbia,  4 
each  from  Prince  Edward  Island,  Alberta,  and  Saskat- 
chewan. It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the  composition 
of  the  Upper  House  of  the  Dominion  Legislature  is  very 
different  from  that  of  the  United  States  Senate,  and  that 


98  THE     COMING     CANADA 

it  is  not  representative  of  provinces  or  population  in 
the  same  sense.  Each  Senator  must  be  thirty  years 
of  age.  He  may  be  either  a  native  born  or  a  naturalised 
British  subject.  He  must  be  an  actual  resident  of  the 
province  from  which  he  is  appointed,  and  therein  be 
possessed  of  property,  real  or  personal,  of  the  actual 
value  of  $4000.  Change  of  residence  of  course  operates 
de  facto  to  invaHdate  his  appointment. 

Members  of  the  House  of  Commons  are  elected  by 
the  people  for  a  term  of  five  years,  unless  ParHament 
is  sooner  dissolved,  when  a  new  general  election  is 
ordered  by  the  Governor- General's  writ.  At  present, 
the  ratio  of  representation  in  this  Lower  House  is  one 
member  for  25,637  of  population.  The  province  of 
Quebec  is  always  to  have  65  members,  and  the  other 
provinces  proportionately,  according  to  their  popula- 
tions at  each  decennial  census.  At  this  time,  the  House 
of  Commons  consists  of  221  members:  Ontario  86, 
Quebec  65,  Nova  Scotia  18,  New  Brunswick  13,  Manitoba 
10,  British  Columbia  7,  Prince  Edward  Island  4,  Saskat- 
chewan 10,  Alberta  7,  Yukon  Territory  i.  As  the  popu- 
lation of  those  portions  of  the  Dominion  which  are 
entitled  to  be  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons  is 
only  about  5,500,000  (an  approximation  that  is  some- 
what hazardous,  because  the  immigration  has  been  very 
great  during  the  past  two  years),  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  complaint  that  the  body  is  cumbersome  and 
disproportionately  large  in  numbers,  seems  to  be  well 
taken.  The  48  States  of  the  United  States  have  a 
population  of  something  like  ninety  millions,  and  the 
members  in  the  House  of  Representatives  number  400. 


THE     GOVERNMENT     OF     CANADA         99 

In  the  Dominion  the  ratio  is  one  to  25,637;  in  the  United 
States  it  is  one  to  193,284. 

"The  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  are  elected 
by  constituencies,  the  electors  of  wmch  are  supplied  by 
franchises  under  the  control  of  the  several  provincial 
assembhes.  The  qualifications  for  voting  at  pro\dncial 
elections  vary  in  the  several  provinces.  Voting  is  by 
ballot."  There  is  a  small  property  qualification  for 
the  right  of  suffrage;  it  varies  in  the  different  provinces 
and  territories.  In  the  North  West  Territory  there  is 
no  property  qualification.  The  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Commons  (elected  by  the  members)  receives  an 
annual  salary  of  $4000,  and  each  member  an  allowance  of 
$2500  for  the  session,  from  which,  in  the  case  of  ordinary 
members,  a  deduction  of  $15  a  day  is  made  for  absences. 
One  curious  phase  of  emoluments  is  that  the  Leader  of 
the  Opposition  is  paid  $7000  in  addition  to  the  allowance 
made  for  the  session.  This  important  official  is  also 
recognised  in  other  ways  that  are  quite  novel  to  states- 
men and  politicians  of  the  United  States.  He  has  his 
own  private  office  in  the  Parliament  building,  as  well  as 
his  own  corps  of  clerks  and  messengers.  The  Speaker 
and  members  of  the  Senate  have  the  same  allowances 
as  are  made  to  the  members  of  the  Lower  House;  but 
they  receive  no  extra  allowances. 

The  present  Governor- General  is  His  Royal  Highness 
the  Duke  of  Connaught  and  Stratheam,  brother  of  the 
late  King  Edward  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and 
Emperor  of  India,  and  therefore  uncle  of  the  reigning 
monarch,  .King  George  V.  The  Governor-General's 
Privy  Council  comprises  the  Premier  and  President  of 


lOO  THE     COMING    CANADA 

Council,  the  Secretary  of  State  and  thirteen  other 
Ministers;  their  portfolios  are  Trade  and  Commerce, 
Justice  and  Attorney-General,  Marine,  Fisheries  and 
Naval  Service,  Railways  and  Canals,  Militia  and  Defence, 
Finance,  Postmaster-General,  Agriculture,  Public  Works, 
Interior,  Customs,  Inland  Revenue  and  Mines,  Labour. 
There  is  besides,  a  SoHcitor-General  who  is  adviser  to 
the  Governor- General,  but  who  is  not  in  the  Cabinet. 
Furthermore,  there  is  a  Department  of  External  Affairs, 
whose  head  is  Hkewise  not  a  Cabinet  officer,  which  has 
charge  of  all  Imperial  and  inter-colonial  correspondence 
passing  between  Ottawa  and  Downing  Street,  a  name 
which  has  come  to  connote  the  British  administration. 

It  must  seem  to  the  American  publicist  that  there  is 
needless  differentiation  in  this  multipHcity  of  Cabinet 
officials.  I  fear  the  alleged  British  fondness  for  red- 
tape  and  its  tendency  to  circumlocution  assert  them- 
selves in  the  composition  of  the  Governor-General's 
Privy  Council.  Just  why  the  functions  of  the  Depart- 
ments of  Trade  and  Commerce,  Fisheries  and  Marine 
Service;  or  those  of  Railways  and  Canals,  and  Public 
Works;  or  those  of  Finance,  Customs,  and  Inland 
Revenue  and  Mines,  should  not  be  consoHdated  into 
three  offices,  it  is  not  easy  to  see. 

Each  of  the  nine  existing  provinces  has  its  own  separate 
parliament  and  administration,  at  the  head  of  which  is  a 
Lieutenant-Governor  appointed  by  the  Governor-General. 
The  provinces  have  full  powers  to  regulate  their  own  local 
affairs  and  to  dispose  of  their  own  revenues,  provided 
always  that  there  shall  be  no  interference  with  the  action 
and  policy  of  the  central  Dominion  Government. 


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THE     GOVERNMENT    OF    CANADA      lOI 

Quebec  has  two  Chambers,  a  Legislative  Council  and 
a  Legislative  Assembly,  and  a  responsible  Ministry. 
Nova  Scotia  has  the  same.  The  oiher  provinces  have 
but  one  Legislative  Assembly,  and  a  responsible  Ministry. 
All  readers  are  probably  famiHar  to  a  certain  extent  with 
the  working  of  such  a  government  as  that  of  Great 
Britain  and  other  States  wherein  there  is  a  '^responsible 
ministry."  Such  readers  may  have  noted  that  when  the 
Cabinet  of  such  a  country  is  defeated  by  the  legislature 
in  the  vote  upon  a  bill  which  it  has  introduced,  the 
Cabinet  resigns  en  bloc,  and  somebody  from  the  Opposi- 
tion is  called  upon  to  form  a  new  Cabinet.  It  is  doubtful, 
however,  if  all  comprehend  just  why  this  is  so,  and  what 
a  ''responsible  ministry"  is:  the  responsibility  is  to  the 
State  not  to  the  ruler.  In  such  a  nation,  or  state,  or 
province,  the  official  head,  be  he  king,  president,  gover- 
nor-general or  lieutenant-governor,  is  assumed  to  be 
without  political  affiliation.  Furthermore,  he  is  entirely 
relieved  of  all  responsibility  for  the  actual  legislation. 
When  a  general  election  has  declared  the  wish  of  a 
majority  of  the  electors,  the  head  of  the  State  calls  upon 
the  leader  of  the  party  in  the  majority  to  form  a  Cabinet, 
and  it  is  assumed  that  the  head  of  the  State  will  approve 
of  the  selection  of  individual  members,  no  matter  how 
distasteful  to  his  personal  views  may  be  the  poHtical 
opinions  of  the  majority:  as  an  example,  refer  to  Queen 
Victoria  and  Mr.  Gladstone.  This  being  done  and  (if 
provided  for  by  constitution  or  according  to  custom) 
the  Cabinet  being  confirmed  by  the  legislature,  the  head 
of  the  State  is  personally  irresponsible  for  all  legislation. 
Taking  a  concrete  example:   "as  now  interpreted,  the 


I02  THE     COMING     CANADA 

leading  principles  of  the  British  constitution  are  the 
personal  irresponsibility  of  the  sovereign,  the  responsi- 
bility of  ministers  [Cabinet  officers],  and  the  unquestioned 
and  controlling  power  of  parliament."  If  the  ministry 
fails  to  receive  the  support  of  the  national  legislature, 
its  power  is  at  an  end  and  it  must  resign.  This  rule  of 
a  responsible  ministry  holds  good  in  Canada,  from  the 
Dominion  Government  at  Ottawa  to  every  province 
which  is  politically  and  independently  organised.  It 
even  exercises  surprising  influence  in  smaller  political 
divisions  and  in  municipalities. 

The  North  West  Territories,  comprising  all  the  regions 
formerly  known  as  Rupert's  Land;  and  the  North 
Western  Territory,  excepting  the  provinces  of  Manitoba, 
Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta;  the  district  of  Keewatin;  * 
and  the  North  West  Territory,  are  governed  by  a  com- 
missioner and  council  of  four  appointed  by  the  Governor- 
General,  by  and  with  the  consent  and  approval  of  his 
Privy  Council  at  Ottawa.  The  Territory  of  Yukon  is 
governed  by  a  Commissioner  and  an  executive  council 
of  ten  members,  elected  by  the  people.  In  the  Domin- 
ion, the  appointments  made  by  the  Governor- General 
are  not  submitted  to  the  Senate  for  confirmation,  as 
would  be  the  case  with  corresponding  Presidential  ap- 
pointments in  the  United  States.  The  Governor-Gen- 
eral's appointments  may,  however,  be  reviewed  by  the 
King  and  his  Privy  Council,  and  they  may  be  thus 
revoked;  but  there  are  few  (if  any)  instances  of  this 
action. 

There  is  a  Supreme  Court  at  Ottawa  having  appellate, 
*  Keewatin  and  Ungava  have  disappeared. 


THE     GOVERNMENT     OF     CANADA      103 

civil,  and  criminal  jurisdiction  in  and  throughout  Canada. 
There  is  an  Exchequer  Court,  whfch  is  also  a  colonial 
court  of  admiralty,  exercising  povvers  as  provided  for 
in  the  Imperial  *' Colonial  Courts  of  Admiralty  Act, 
1890."  There  is  a  Superior  Court  in  each  province; 
County  Courts,  with  Hmited  jurisdiction,  in  most  of 
the  provinces;  some  of  the  judges  of  these  courts  are 
appointed  by  the  Governor- General;  the  minor  ones 
by  the  Dominion  parliament.  The  latter,  even,  cannot 
be  removed  unless  by  impeachment  before  the  parHa- 
ment.  This  involves  an  elaborate  process  which  has 
not  yet  been  attempted,  although  it  has  been  threatened 
more  than  once.  Police  Magistrates  and  Justices  of 
the  Peace  are  appointed  by  the  governor  of  the  province. 
The  dispensing  of  justice  in  the  Dominion  is  marked  by 
a  promptness  which  might  well  be  emulated  in  her 
southern  neighbour.  Mr.  Albert  J.  Beveridge  —  for- 
merly U.  S.  Senator  from  Indiana,  in  1910-11  prepared 
a  series  of  articles  about  ''Our  Northern  Neighbors" 
for  The  Saturday  Evening  Post,  Philadelphia,  in  which 
he  discussed,  as  a  competent  jurist,  the  methods  fol- 
lowed by  the  Canadian  Courts  in  such  important  matters 
as  controlling  trusts,  etc.  Those  articles  were  most 
instructive  and  illuminating. 

To  Canada's  credit  it  may  truthfully  and  cheerfully 
be  said  that  the  law  is  effectively,  promptly,  and  im- 
partially administered  throughout  the  entire  Domin- 
ion. It  would  be,  I  think,  impossible  for  the  most 
searching  investigation  to  reveal  a  state  of  affairs  in  the 
courts  of  Canada,  such  as  has  seemed  to  justify  the 
attacks  upon  the  bench  in  the  United  States  of  America 


I04  THE     COMING     CANADA 

which  have  appeared  in  some  of  the  magazines  of  the 
latter  country  within  the  past  year  or  two. 

In  consequence  there  is,  even  in  the  remotest  mining 
camps  of  the  Yukon  Territory  or  among  the  rough 
lumbermen  of  other  regions,  less  turbulence  than  is 
often  reported  from  similar  districts  in  Australia  or  the 
United  States.  A  concrete  comparison  might  be  drawn 
between  conditions  in  the  mining  camps  of  the  Yukon 
Territory  and  those  in  Alaska,  which  would  be  not  at 
all  unfavourable  to  Canada.  In  the  distant  western 
and  northwestern  portions  of  the  Dominion,  great  credit 
for  general  order,  security  of  Ufe  and  property,  and  the 
prompt  arrest,  conviction,  and  punishment  of  criminals 
is  due  to  the  North  Western  Mounted  Police,  also  called 
"The  Riders  of  the  Plains,"  who  are  entitled  to  more 
consideration  than  the  limitation  of  space  puts  upon 
me. 

This  is  an  efhcient  body  of  picked  men,  preference  being 
given  to  those  who  have  had  some  military  training, 
although  this  is  not  considered  absolutely  essential. 
But  strong,  healthy,  resourceful,  tactful,  courageous, 
and  good  horsemen  they  must  be.  The  full  force  com- 
prises 700  men  and  officers,  under  the  control  of  the 
Dominion  government.  They  are  well  paid  and  are 
given  such  effective  support  that  the  esprit  de  corps  is 
very  high. 

Roughly  speaking,  they  patrol  the  entire  territory 
north  and  west  of  Ontario  and  Quebec  provinces 
(although  they  are  not,  I  believe,  supposed  to  go  into 
Ungava  and  Labrador).  That  is  from  Hudson  Bay  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  including  all  of  Yukon  Terri- 


THE     GOVERNMENT     OF     CANADA      I05 

tory,  and  from  the  United  States  boundary  all  the  way  to 
the  northern  limits  of  the  Dominion  in  Arctic  lands. 
This  great  bailiwick,  not  very  much  smaller  than  the 
entire  area  of  the  United  States,  is  apportioned  —  for 
police  service  —  into  twelve  divisions  with  a  superin- 
tendent for  each.  These  divisions  are  further  subdivided 
into  one  hundred  and  fifty  smaller  administrative 
districts,  in  charge  of  lieutenants  or  sergeants,  or  it 
may  be  just  a  corporal. 

The  functions  of  these  Mounted  Police  are  most 
varied.  Not  only  are  they  first  and  foremost  preservers 
of  the  peace  and  effective  executors  of  justice,  but  they 
are  also  census  officers,  registrars,  rural  postmen,  etc.; 
they  may  be  called  upon  to  record  a  birth,  or  register  a 
marriage,  or  certify  a  death,  wherever  there  happens 
to  be  no  competent  civil  official.  Many  an  outpost  of 
civilisation  would  be  entirely  without  means  of  com- 
municating with  the  rest  of  the  world,  were  it  not  for 
the  occasional  visit  of  a,  Mounted  Policeman.  One 
must  know  from  actual  experience  of  the  winter  in 
Canada's  northwest  how  to  appreciate  what  such  a 
visit  sometimes  means;  and  at  that  season  the  visiting 
policeman  is  not  mounted. 

Versatile  they  are,  of  course:  expert  horsemen,  crack 
shots,  good  on  snowshoes,  skilful  with  a  paddle  and  in 
managing  a  canoe,  in  fact  handy  at  everything.  Besides 
all  these  things,  they  are  constantly  engaged  in  breaking 
out  new  trails,  in  recording  experiences  and  observ^ations 
which  are  valuable  or  suggestive  to  scientists  in  deter- 
mining the  agricultural,  grazing,  mineral,  lumber  value 
of  new  territory.    To  their  efforts  is  due  much  of  the 


Io6  THE     COMING     CANADA 

credit  for  pushing  back  the  line  which  had  previously 
marked  off  the  ''unexplored"  regions  of  the  north.  An 
entire  volume  might  be  filled  with  accounts  of  the 
bravery  and  self-sacrifice  of  these  men. 

As  the  traveller  by  train  sees  an  occasional  Mounted 
Policeman  at  a  station,  he  may  often  be  inclined  to  mis- 
judge their  ^' smart"  appearance  as  indicative  of  fop- 
pishness which  strives  to  imitate  the  gorgeousness  and 
manner  of  the  regular  army.  But  let  a  call  come  to  arrest 
a  drunken  bully  who  is  threatening  to  "paint  the  town 
red"  and  shoot  at  sight;  or  let  it  be  a  summons  to  head 
off  a  band  of  turbulent  Indians,  or  to  fight  a  prairie  fire, 
or  any  one  of  a  hundred  other  things  which  demand 
quick  judgment,  prompt  action  and  entire  forgetfulness 
of  self,  and  the  seeming  fop  is  instantly  metamorphosed 
into  a  vigorous,  self-reliant,  absolutely  fearless  upholder 
of  the  peace,  or  a  kind-hearted  rescuer  of  the  suffering. 

After  the  transfer  of  French  control  in  1759  or  1763, 
the  British  Government  maintained  garrisons  at  Quebec 
and  Hahfax  for  a  time,  as  well  as  smaller  contingents  at 
a  number  of  posts.  Still  later,  Esquimault,  Vancouver 
Island,  British  Columbia,  was  made  a  large  and  impor- 
tant naval  base  and  dockyard.  Quebec  was  the  first  of 
these  to  be  transferred  to  the  confederation:  more 
recently,  1905,  Halifax  and  Esquimault  were  also  handed 
over  to  the  Dominion's  care. 

The  sovereign  of  the  British  Empire  is  nominally 
commander-in-chief  of  all  the  military  and  naval  forces 
of  Canada;  but  the  actual  control  rests  entirely  with  the 
federal  parliament.  Until  1903,  the  mihtary  forces  of  the 
Dominion  were  commanded  by  a  British  regular  army 


THE     GOVERNMENT     OF     CANADA      107 

officer;  but  in  that  year  the  service  was  reorganised  and 
locaHsed,  the  command  being  given  to  a  military  council, 
of  which  the  Minister  of  Militia  and  Defence  became 
president. 

When  Halifax  and  Esquimault  were  transferred  to 
the  Dominion,  it  became  necessary  to  increase  the 
militia  by  about  5000  men,  in  order  to  provide  the  neces- 
sary garrisons  at  the  three  important  strategic  points 
and  the  few  forts  that  are  still  maintained.  On  a  peace 
footing,  however,  the  Canadian  army  is  not  a  great 
burden  on  the  finances,  being  only  about  6000  all  told, 
including  the  three  principal  branches,  infantry,  artillery, 
and  cavalry.  The  former  one  thousand  were  mostly 
commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers  of  the 
regular  (British)  army  who  were  occupied  as  instructors 
of  the  militia. 

All  male  citizens  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
sixty  are  nominally  enrolled  for  militia  duty,  and  may 
be  called  to  the  colours  at  once  should  occasion  demand. 
It  may  be  noted  that  the  maximum  age  indicates  the 
conviction  that  a  man  retains  his  vigour  longer  in 
Canada  than  he  is  assumed  to  do  in  some  other  countries. 
The  actual  militia,  regularly  drilled  and  given  practical 
training  in  camp  and  the  like,  comprises  about  45,000, 
officers  and  men;  all  of  whom  are  volunteers.  The 
service  is  a  popular  one  and  not  seriously  engrossing. 
The  government  has  no  difficulty  in  keeping  the  ranks 
of  the  militia  companies  filled. 

This  militia  cannot  be  called  upon  for  active  duty 
outside  the  Dominion;  but  we  know  that  there  have 
been  several  occasions  when  special  corps  Lave  volun- 


I08  THE     COMING     CANADA 

teered  for  foreign  service;  the  expense  attending  this 
has  usually  been  borne  by  patriotic  citizens.  In  1883, 
a  company  of  Canadian  wyageurs  offered  themselves  for 
service  in  Lord  Wolseley's  Nile  expedition.  These  men 
were  of  the  greatest  assistance  in  helping  the  army  to 
pass  the  Rapids,  as  well  as  in  other  ways  because  of 
their  general  handiness;  a  characteristic  which  is 
declared  to  be  not  marked  in  the  average  "Tommy 
Atkins."  Again,  during  the  South  African  War,  1902-4, 
several  contingents  of  Canadian  troops  were  enlisted 
and  gladly  accepted  by  the  Imperial  War  Office.  These 
troops  gave  an  excellent  account  of  themselves,  and 
their  action,  taken  in  connection  with  the  manner  in 
which  the  heavy  expense  of  their  equipment  and  main- 
tenance was  provided  for,  as  well  as  the  expressions  of 
sentiment  by  the  French-Canadian  (Sir  Wilfred  Laurier) 
who  was  then  Premier  and  who  spoke  for  all  his  fellows, 
went  a  long  way  towards  strengthening  the  bonds  which 
unite  the  Dominion  to  the  Empire, 

After  the  close  of  the  South  African  War,  another 
thorough  reorganisation  of  the  militia  took  place,  and  it 
is  now  considered  to  be  in  excellent  condition  both  as  to 
efficiency  and  popularity.  The  Royal  Military  College 
at  Kingston  is  well  attended  and  admirably  conducted. 
Each  year,  a  certain  number  of  the  successful  graduates 
are  given  commissions  in  the  Imperial  army  of  Great 
Britain.  Nearly  all  the  schools  in  cities  of  size,  as  well 
as  some  of  those  in  smaller  places,  have  their  cadet  corps, 
neatly  uniformed,  carefully  drilled  by  competent  militia 
officers,  and  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition,  either 
by  the  central  or  the  local  government. 


THE    GOVERNMENT    OF    CANADA        lOQ 

The  Dominion  government  maintains  an  arsenal  and 
factories  for  the  manufacture  of  rifles,  small  arms,  and 
ammunition  at  Quebec.  The  arsenal  is  within  what  is 
popularly  known  as  ^^The  Citadel;"  but  for  a  time  the 
other  useful  estabHshments,  as  well  as  a  rifle-range  that 
was  constantly  in  use,  were  allowed  to  encroach  upon 
what  all  loyal  Canadians  consider  to  be  the  sacred  Plains 
of  Abraham;  but  this  profanation  has  been  stopped, 
and  the  most  hallowed  portion,  the  eastern  end  where 
stand  the  monuments,  on  the  actual  battlefield,  is  now 
preserved  as  a  pubhc  park. 

There  is  no  State  Church  in  the  Dominion;  although 
in  the  Province  of  Quebec  certain  religious  privileges 
have  been  permitted  to  the  Roman  CathoHcs  ever  since 
the  conquest  in  1759,  and  these  have  brought  about 
conditions  which  seem  to  suggest  an  estabUshed  church. 
The  Church  of  England  has  two  archbishops  (Rupert's 
Land:  archbishop,  metropolitan,  and  primate  of  all 
Canada;  and  Ontario:  archbishop  and  metropoHtan), 
nineteen  or  twenty  bishoprics,  and  something  over  1000 
clergy.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  one  cardinal, 
seven  archbishops,  23  bishops,  and  about  1500  clergy. 
The  Presbyterian  Church  has  about  1400  ministers,  and 
maintains  some  2500  churches  and  stations;  the  Metho- 
dists 1950;  and  the  Baptists  500.  Besides  the  older 
divisions  of  the  Christian  Church,  there  are  almost 
innumerable  sects.  The  utmost  freedom  is  permitted, 
and  Russian  dissenters  are  made  to  feel  as  much  at  home 
as  are  the  strictest  churchmen. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  WEALTH  OF  CANADA 

BEGINNING  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the 
Dominion,  with  Nova  Scotia,  I  purpose  giving  a 
very  little  attention  to  Canada's  mineral  wealth,  because 
it  seems  to  me  that  this  is  not  now  such  an  important 
factor  as  is  that  other  which  is  to  be  taken  from  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  In  agricultural  products,  live 
stock,  and  kindred  industries,  I  am  convinced,  the 
greatness  of  The  Coming  Canada  is  to  consist,  and  that 
conviction  is  strengthened  by  what  I  have  seen  and  heard 
during  another  visit  to  the  Dominion  which  I  have 
recently  made. 

It  is  not  because  I  do  not  appreciate  fully  Canada's 
mineral  wealth,  but  because  I  believe  more  in  something 
else.  With  the  natural  products  of  the  ground,  I  shall 
class  the  marine  products  in  this  hasty  and  general  pre- 
liminary sketch.  All  who  have  enjoyed  the  delight  of 
coasting  along  the  shores  of  Nova  Scotia,  New  Bruns- 
wick, Prince  Edward  Island,  Anticosti,  eastern  Quebec, 
and  even  the  bleak  Labrador,  as  well  as  other  parts  of 
Canada's  littoral,  Atlantic  or  Pacific,  have  been  impressed 
with  the  economic  and  financial  importance  of  the 
fisheries;  both  those  of  the  deeper  seas  and  those  of 
the  lobstermen  in  the  bays  and  bights  of  the  east.  Or, 
jumping  across  the  continent,  the  salmon  fisheries  of 


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THE     WEALTH     OF     CANADA  Til 

British  Columbia  have  interested  every  visitor.  The 
fishing  industries  bring  to  the  people  of  the  Dominion 
many  millions  of  dollars  every  year.  Of  the  river  and 
lake  fishing,  I  shall  speak  in  another  ^place. 

In  Nova  Scotia  there  are  great  coalfields,  and  Sydney, 
Cape  Breton,  is  one  of  the  most  important  coal-shipping 
ports  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  Twenty  million  dollars  a 
year  is  said  to  be  the  amount  which  this  one  industry 
represents.  Naturally,  since  the  other  required  raw 
material,  iron  ore,  is  at  hand,  this  little  town  is  also  a 
producer  of  iron  and  steel;  the  place  has  aptly  been 
called  ^'A  transatlantic  Birmingham"  ;  and  indeed,  it 
is  not  quite  so  absurd  as  it  sounds  to  liken  the  com- 
paratively new,  Httle  Nova  Scotia  town  of  a  few  thou- 
sand population,  with  the  long  established  Midland  city 
of  half  a  million.  The  rest  of  this  Acadian  region  is 
rather  poorly  off  in  minerals.  The  Cape  Breton  coal 
seams  re-appear  as  far  north  as  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 
The  coal  seams  of  New  Brunswick  are  thin  and  unim- 
portant. There  are  some  fairly  productive  veins  of 
quartz  bearing  precious  metals.  The  southern  part 
of  Quebec  pro\dnce  is  placed  by  geologists  in  the  Acadian 
region;  in  that  part  are  some  copper  and  asbestos 
properties  of  value. 

Geologists  consider  the  Dominion  as  dixided  into  five 
areas.  One  has  been  barely  alluded  to;  but  there  is 
little  more  to  say.  The  next  is  an  enormous  territory, 
technically  designated  as  the  Archaean  protaxis.  Within 
its  boundaries  there  must  be  more  than  two  million 
square  miles.  In  the  east  it  embraces  Labrador, 
Ungava,  and  most  of  Quebec  province;    its  southern 


112  THE     COMING     CANADA 

boundary  may  be  defined  by  a  line  including  the  northern 
part  of  Ontario  province;  while  west  its  limits  run  from 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods  northwesterly  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean  near  the  mouth  of  .the  Mackenzie  River.  What 
the  northern  limit  is,  it  would  be  venturesome  to  say;  it 
certainly  includes  many  of  those  bleak,  ice-bound  islands 
which  intervene  between  the  mainland  of  the  North 
American  continent  and  the  North  Pole.  Hudson  Bay 
is  at  about  the  centre  of  this  gigantic  V;  but  even  on 
the  latest  maps  which  the  Dominion  Government  has 
prepared,  giving  data  to  the  end  of  191 1,  vast  tracts  are 
yet  branded  as  unexplored,  or  as  barren.  Much  of  the 
foundation  is  Lauren tian  gneiss  and  granite;  but  there 
are  other  rocks  which  bear  deposits  of  most  of  the  im- 
portant minerals;  principally  iron,  nickel,  silver,  copper. 

If  Ontario  has  been  almost  deforested  —  and  the 
lumbermen  long  since  passed  into  the  newly  created 
northern  section  —  there  yet  remains  in  the  cobalt 
mines  of  the  province  a  source  of  great  wealth  which  is 
being  realised  very  rapidly.  From  those  silver-bearing 
ores  something  like  forty  million  dollars'  worth  of  metal 
have  been  extracted.  The  range  of  these  ores  has 
recently  been  demonstrated  to  be  much  wider  than  it 
was  supposed  to  be.  The  nickel  mines  of  Ontario  are 
extremely  valuable;  so  much  so  indeed  that  those  at 
Sudbury  are  said  to  produce  a  large  proportion  of  the 
whole  world's  output.  Of  the  87  million  dollars  which 
all  Canadian  mines  produced  in  1909,  Ontario's  cobalt- 
silver  and  nickel  mines  represented  nearly  thirty  millions. 

The  next  geological  area,  the  Interior  Central  Plain, 
would  not  naturally  be  considered  of  importance  for  its 


THE     WEALTH     OF     CANADA  II3 

minerals.  There  is  some  coal  and  lignite,  and  as  one 
draws  towards  the  Rocky  Mountains,  near  Medicine 
Hat,  a  station  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  in  Alberta 
province,  for  example,  natural  gas-wells  have  been  bored 
and  the  gas  put  to  use  as  fuel.  In  certain  places,  the 
presence  of  '' tar-sands"  indicates  that  petroleum  exists, 
but  these  ''prospects"  have  not  yet  been  followed 
up.  In  the  northern  part  of  Alberta  natural  gas  has 
been  found  and  there  must  be  a  good  deal  of  this 
natural  asset  all  along  the  eastern  foothills  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

In  the  western  mountain  region,  The  Cordilleran 
Belt,  as  it  is  technically  called,  large  fields  of  coal,  both 
bituminous  and  semi-anthracite,  have  been  opened. 
The  mines  supply  fuel  for  the  different  railways,  for  the 
settlers  along  the  lines,  and  for  the  cities  and  towns 
farther  to  the  east.  The  best  coal,  down  to  the  present 
time,  is  found  on  the  Pacific  slope.  From  the  mines  of 
that  region  comes  the  coking  coal  which  supplies  fuel 
for  the  famous  Kootenay  district  in  extreme  southern 
British  Columbia,  and  to  the  mines  and  smelters  of 
Montana. 

The  Selkirk  Mountains  and  the  Gold  Range  are  two 
short  chains  parallel  to  the  main  Rockies,  in  southeastern 
British  Columbia.  In  these  two  ranges  are,  at  present, 
the  most  important  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  lead  mines 
of  the  Dominion;  and  their  output  has  placed  British 
Columbia  far  in  the  lead  of  all  other  provinces  as  a 
producer  of  the  precious  and  useful  metals. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  province's  history,  the  placer 
mines  along  the  Columbia  and  Fraser  Rivers,  in  southern 


114  THE     COMING     CANADA 

British  Columbia,  and  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  Yukon 
Territory  in  the  north,  attracted  much  attention;  but 
in  these  districts  the  precious  metals  are  now  almost 
entirely  mined  from  lodes  and  reduced  by  smelting.  The 
placer  mines  of  the  Klondike,  still  farther  north,  have 
furnished  many  million  dollars'  worth  of  gold,  and  will 
doubtless  continue  to  be  productive  for  some  time  to 
come. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  the  Canadian  Rockies  has  not 
yet  been  determined.  Geological  and  mineralogical 
surveys  are  being  made  yearly;  but  this  research  into 
the  material  wealth  of  the  Dominion  is  being  directed 
more  towards  the  soil  in  its  various  phases.  Gold  mines, 
working  either  on  ledges  or  by  hydrauKc  washing,  are 
to  be  seen  along  many  river  bottoms.  From  them  gold 
to  the  value  of  hundreds  of  million  dollars  has  been  taken. 
Who  will  dare  to  guess  at  the  milHons  upon  millions  more 
that  may  be  extracted?  Yet,  again,  who  will  tell  just 
what  each  dollar's  worth  of  gold  has  cost?  Economically, 
morally,  physically,  socially  —  gold  mining  is  more 
costly  than  wheat  growing! 

Other  parts  of  British  Columbia  are  so  rich  in  metals 
that  one  writer  asserts,  ''corundum  and  nickel  seem  to 
be  the  only  mineral  products  that  are  not  found  in  this 
highly  metalliferous  region."  Several  towns  in  this 
province  have  gained  a  reputation  that  is  world-wide 
because  of  the  great  value  of  their  metal  output,  precious 
or  merely  useful ;  and  the  plants  of  some  include  smelters 
that  are  among  ''the  largest  and  most  complete  of  their 
kind  in  the  whole  world!"  All  the  British  Columbian 
littoral  as  well  as  the  adjacent  islands  seems  to  be  rich 


1 


THE     WEALTH     OF     CANADA  II5 

in  minerals,  from  the  prosaic  coal  to  the  ghttering  gold. 
The  total  output  of  the  mines  has  reached  hundreds  of 
millions  of  dollars  in  value.  Besides  great  wealth  in 
the  ground,  this  Pacific  province  has  enormous  wealth 
above  ground,  for  there  is  the  greatest  compact  area  of 
merchantable  timber  in  North  America.  But  it  is  not 
only  in  mines  and  lumber  that  the  extreme  western 
section  of  the  Dominion  possesses  great  wealth;  there 
are  other  sources  which  are  really  more  satisfactory  and, 
in  the  long  run,  more  remunerative  to  labour  and  to  the 
State:   of  these  I  shall  speak  presently. 

We  may  say  of  the  Cordillera  belt,  as  a  whole,  that 
within  its  borders  are  most  of  the  best  coal  mines  in 
Canada;  that  there  are  also  immense  deposits  of  the 
precious  and  some  of  the  useful  metals,  for  iron-ore  of 
a  good  quality  and  readily  mined  has  not  yet  been  found. 
But  our  knowledge  of  this  great  Cordilleran  belt  is  still 
anything  but  complete.  It  extends  from  the  United 
States  boundary  far  into  the  Arctic  regions,  and  from 
the  eastern  foot  of  the  Rocky  IVIountains  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Explorations  are  being  prosecuted,  and  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  expect  that  this  great  area  will 
prove  to  be  ''the  counterpart  of  the  great  mining 
region  of  the  Cordillera  in  the  United  States  to  the 
South." 

If  confirmation  were  demanded  for  the  statement 
that  the  government  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  looks 
more  favourably  upon  the  development  of  those  resources 
which  depend  upon  the  soil,  rather  than  upon  the  ex- 
ploitation of  mineral  wealth,  it  is  to  be  had  in  the  suc- 
cessful efforts  which  have  been  made  to  increase  the 


Il6  THE     COMING     CANADA 

population  and  to  extend  the  area  under  cultivation  in 
the  great  Interior  Central  Plain. 

Less  than  forty  years  ago,  our  school  atlases  showed 
British  North  America  to  be  practically  a  complete  blank 
from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Pacific,  from  the  Inter- 
national boundary  northward  indefinitely.  Prior  to 
1858,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  a  trading-post 
where  Victoria  on  Vancouver  Island,  B.  C,  now  stands. 
The  city  was  incorporated  in  1862.  In  1886  its  popula- 
tion was  14,000,  and  this  included  Chinese  and  a  large 
number  of  Indians;  now  there  are  50,000  inhabitants. 
In  1870,  Winnipeg  began  its  existence  as  a  village.  Prior 
to  that  date  there  had  been  at  least  five  fur-traders' 
*' forts"  on  sites  that  are  now  within  the  city's  limits. 
In  1873,  it  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  and  in  1881  the 
population  was  7985,  now  it  is  over  200,000.  Scarcely 
another  one  of  the  innumerable,  flourishing  cities  and 
towns  were  in  existence  forty  years  ago. 

In  the  northern  sections  of  this  great  area,  it  was  the 
dotted  line  which  confesses  geographical  ignorance  that 
map-makers  were  compelled  to  use.  Here  and  there, 
at  wide  intervals,  *' forts"  were  marked.  These  denoted 
trading  stations  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  — ■ 
very  rarely  —  posts  where  small  garrisons  were  main- 
tained for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a  watch  on  the  Indians 
and  checking  their  disposition  to  go  on  the  war-path. 
Now,  the  maps  which  the  Dominion  Government  issues 
to  show  the  land  that  is  available  for  homestead  pre- 
emption in  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta 
provinces,  indicate  that  agricultural  and  stock-raising 
settlers  in  great  numbers  have  availed  themselves  of  the 


THE     WEALTH     OF     CANADA  II7 

opportunity  to  secure  homes  upon  the  favourable  terms 
that  are  granted. 

This,  however,  is  not  at  all  astonishing,  because  the 
land  is  good,  the  climate  healthy,  even  if  the  winters  are 
rigorous,  the  faciUties  of  access  are  satisfactory  and  are 
being  rapidly  extended,  and  the  advantages  of  schools 
and  social  intercourse  are  admirable.  These,  and  other 
phases  of  life  in  those  western  provinces,  will  be  con- 
sidered more  fully  in  the  chapter,  ''The  Lure  of  Canada." 

What  is  amazing,  and  it  is  something  which  strongly 
emphasises  the  importance  of  agriculture  as  the  leading 
factor  of  Canada's  wealth,  is  the  story  told  by  a  map 
of  the  Dominion  to  show  points  far  to  the  north  of  what 
was  for  a  long  time  considered  the  limit  of  the  grain  belt, 
where  wheat  has  been  grown.  The  most  northern  of 
these  points  is  Fort  Simpson,  on  the  Mackenzie  River 
in  the  North  West  Territories,  lat.  61°  8'.  Here  barley 
always  ripens  and  wheat  is  sure  to  mature  four  seasons 
out  of  five.  Melons,  if  started  under  glass,  ripen  well 
and  frost  seldom  does  them  much  damage.  One  visitor  * 
wrote:  "While  at  this  post  we  enjoyed  the  fine  potatoes, 
carrots,  parsnips,  cabbage,  and  peas  grown  in  the  Com- 
pany's garden.  They  were  as  large  and  as  fine  flavoured 
as  the  best  in  any  part  of  the  country.  Barley  is  yearly 
grown  here  and  it  may  be  said  successfully,  for  any  fail- 
ures have  been  due  to  drought  or  too  much  rain  of tener 
than  frost.  Wheat  has  been  tried  several  times,  often 
successfully,  but  as  it  cannot  be  utilised  except  through 
grinding  with  a  handmill,  it  is  not  considered  desirable 
to  grow  much  of  it," 

*  William  Ogilive,  In  Northern  Wilds. 


Il8  THE     COMING     CANADA 

At  Fort  Providence,  on  the  same  Mackenzie  River, 
but  near  its  exit  from  the  Great  Slave  Lake,  lat.  6i°  4', 
on  July  15th,  1906,  an  inspector  reported  *^the  garden 
contained  peas  fit  for  use,  potatoes  in  flower,  tomatoes, 
rhubarb,  beets,  cabbages,  onions.  Besides  vegetables^ 
there  were  cultivated,  flowers  and  fruits,  such  as  red 
currants,  gooseberries,  strawberries,  raspberries,  and 
sackaloons.  But  most  surprising  of  all  was  a  small  field 
of  wheat  in  the  milk,  the  grain  being  fully  formed.  This 
was  stated  to  have  been  sown  on  May  20th,  and  harvested 
before  July  28th,  slightly  over  two  months  from  sowing.'* 

In  1905,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Vermilion,  on  Peace 
River,  northern  Alberta,  lat.  58°  4',  25,000  bushels  of 
wheat  were  raised.  There  is  a  modern  equipment  (roller 
process),  electric-lighted  flour-mill  at  this  place.  At 
that  time  the  capacity  of  the  mill  was  35  barrels  per  day; 
but  the  wheat  crop  in  the  neighbourhood  has  been  so 
much  increased,  and  the  promise  of  permanency  is  so 
good,  that  this  mill  has  been  enlarged  and  now  its 
capacity  is  125  barrels  of  flour  a  day.  The  quality  of 
this  flour  is  declared  to  be  fully  equal  to  that  of  any 
produced  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 

There  are  a  number  of  other  places  north  of  the  54th 
parallel  of  latitude,  where  wheat  has  been  successfully 
raised,  while  barley  and  oats  actually  thrive.  Fruits 
and  vegetables,  such  as  have  been  already  mentioned, 
are  grown  at  nearly  all  of  these  far  northern  posts. 
Experiments  were  made  during  the  summer  of  last  year 
(191 2)  at  some  stations  even  farther  north  than  Fort 
Simpson.  The  results  of  these  tests  are  not  available 
at  the  time  of  writing;   but  officials  of  the  departments. 


THE     WEALTH     OF     CANADA  II9 

Ottawa,  expressed  themselves  with  pleasing  confidence. 
What  has  been  said  of  Siberia  *  of  the  power  of  the  sun 
during  eighteen  to  twenty  hours  of  cloudless  days  that 
are  the  rule  during  the  short  summer,  applies  with  equal 
force  to  Canada. 

For  the  purpose  of  visual  comparison,  an  outline  of 
the  Russian-Siberian  Government  of  Tobolsk  has  been 
superimposed  upon  this  map  in  its  correct  position  as 
to  latitude.  Its  southern  point  reaches  down  nearly  to 
Saskatoon,  Saskatchewan  Province:  its  northern  limit, 
nearly  70°,  corresponds  to  the  southern  portion  of  Vic- 
toria Island,  Wollaston  Land,  in  the  Arctic  sea.  In 
1907,  Tobolsk  produced  11,779,000  bushels  of  wheat, 
4,344,000  bushels  rye,  829,000  bushels  barley,  13,818,000 
bushels  oats.  In  1901  there  were  nearly  four  million 
head  of  live  stock,  and  from  the  Kazan  district,  in  the 
extreme  southwest  along  the  line  of  the  Trans-Siberian 
Railway,  nearly  twenty  million  pounds  of  butter  were 
shipped,  most  of  it  being  sold  in  the  markets  of  Great 
Britain.  Now,  the  cultivated  sections  of  Tobolsk  are 
all  well  to  the  south  of  the  58th  parallel  of  North  lati- 
tude, and  the  northern  boundary  of  Saskatchewan, 
Alberta,  and  British  Columbia  is  the  6oth  parallel.  The 
arable  and  grazing  lands  of  the  Siberian  pro\'ince  are 
considered  to  extend  not  much  to  the  north  of  the  town 
of  Tobolsk,  58°  20'  N.,  and  then  only  in  exceptional 
places.  Whereas,  it  is  being  demonstrated  more  and 
more  each  year  that  the  North  West  Territories  of 
Canada  can  successfully  produce  grain  north  of  the  6oth 
parallel. 

*  See  Russia  in  Europe  and  Asia. 


\ 


I20  THE     COMING     CANADA 

In  the  provinces  of  Manitoba  (its  area  was  much  in- 
creased towards  the  north  by  the  Boundaries  Extension 
Act  of  191 2),  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta,  the  area  under 
grain  cultivation  in  1909  was  11,960,000  acres;  the 
wheat  area  was  6,878,000  acres,  and  the  total  wheat 
produced  was  147,000,000  bushels.  All  of  these  figures 
must  be  greatly  added  to  for  the  current  year,  191 2. 
In  this  year  it  is  estimated  that  the  grain  acreage  in 
those  three  provinces  alone  was  15,728,900  acres;  the 
area  under  wheat  cultivation  was  8,951,800  acres;  the 
wheat  crop  189,585,400  bushels.  The  total  wheat  crop 
for  the  whole  Dominion  was  estimated  at  216,498,000 
bushels,  because  Ontario,  Quebec,  and  the  maritime 
provinces  all  contribute  an  appreciable  quantity. 

That  the  interest,  which  newly  arrived  settlers  who 
contemplate  engaging  in  occupations  that  are  connected 
with  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  or  stock  raising,  is  great 
and  increasing  as  the  influx  of  new-comers  grows,  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  a  report  upon  lands  in  north- 
western Saskatchewan  Province,  of  investigations  made 
there  in  1908,  was  in  such  demand  that  the  large  issue, 
printed  for  public  information  and  gratuitous  distribu- 
tion, was  speedily  exhausted.  This  report  was  reprinted 
in  1910,  and  with  it  was  incorporated  another  similar 
report  of  investigations  made  in  1909.  Copies  of  this 
double  report  are  not  now  easily  procurable  because 
the  demand  for  them  has  been  so  great. 

They  deal  with  those  portions  of  Saskatchewan  and 
Alberta  Provinces  north  of  the  surveyed  area,  up  to  "the 
Clearwater  River  [say  lat.  55°  N.],  and  extending  from 
Green  Lake,  the  Beaver  River,  and  connecting  waters 


THE     WEALTH     OF     CANADA  121 

as  far  north  as  Portage  la  Loche,  on  the  east,  to  the 
Athabaska  River,  on  the  west."  It  should  be  explained 
that  ''surveyed  area"  means  land  which  has  been  marked 
out  by  townships  of  thirty-six  sections;  each  section 
being  one  mile  square,  and  each  section  subdivided 
into  quarter  sections  of  i6o  acres  each.  The  town- 
ship is,  therefore,  six  miles  square;  its  lines  run  north 
and  south,  or  east  and  west;  and  the  system  corre- 
sponds closely  with  the  public  lands  surveys  in  the 
United  States. 

The  area,  covered  by  the  two  reports  which  have  been 
mentioned,  is  approximately  thirty-four  miUion  acres, 
and  the  greater  part  of  this  enormous  tract  is  shown  to 
be  admirably  suited  to  mixed  farming.  Scattered  over 
the  map  which  accompanies  the  combined  reports  are 
such  legends  as,  ''prairie;  very  good  soil,"  "rolling  land; 
good  soil,"  "barley,  oats,  and  good  gardens,"  "burnt 
over;  good  soil,"  "well  timbered."  There  are  abundant 
natural  resources  of  timber,  hay,  fish,  and  game,  which 
are  of  much  value  to  intending  immigrants.  A  good 
many  of  the  early  settlers  have  practically  given  up  the 
cultivation  of  grain  and  devote  their  energies  to  cutting 
and  curing  hay,  for  which  the  local  demand  is  so  great 
as  to  ensure  large  profits. 

Results  of  actual  operations  in  cattle  raising  are  of  a 
most  encouraging  nature.  In  Saskatchewan  Province, 
as  far  north  as  about  the  52nd  parallel  of  latitude,  there 
are  large  herds  of  cattle  and  good-sized  droves  of  horses 
in  a  thriving  condition.  Similar  reports  are  made  from 
various  other  parts  of  this  same  region. 

The  Dominion  Department  of  Agriculture,  through  its 


122  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  and  its  Experimental  Farms 
Branch,  has  made  investigation  of  wild  grasses  growing 
in  Siberia,  Mongolia,  and  Northern  Manchuria.  Three 
varieties  of  yellow-flowered  alfalfa,  called  also  lucern, 
lucerne,  and  luzerne,  were  ''found  growing  and  thriving 
in  a  wild  state  under  conditions  of  climate  much  more 
severe,  both  as  to  cold  in  winter  and  snowfall,  than  are 
to  be  found  in  any  part  of  Northwestern  Canada  as  far 
north  as  there  are  any  claims  made  as  to  probabilities 
of  settlement.  It  may  therefore  be  considered  reason- 
ably probable  that  whatever  advantages  alfalfa  has  over 
our  native  grass  as  fodder  are  assured  for  all  habitable 
parts  of  our  north  country." 

A  careful  perusal  of  these  two  reports  which  have 
been  mentioned  certainly  gives  a  very  different  idea 
of  Canada's  northern  land  than  that  which  most  people 
have  hitherto  had.  A  number  of  illustrations  from 
photographs  of  actual  fields,  etc.,  tend  to  emphasise  the 
astonishment  that  farming  can  be  possible  so  nearly 
up  to  the  Arctic  Circle.  One  of  the  reproductions  shows 
a  field  of  oats  at  La  Plonge  Mission  station,  about  56°  N. 
lat.  A  man,  nearly  six  feet  tall,  stands  among  the 
stalks,  the  tops  of  which  come  to  his  chin.  This  is 
mentioned  as  an  example  of  what  has  been  actually 
done,  and  much  other  evidence  of  arable  land  in  regions 
that  were,  but  a  few  years  ago,  looked  upon  as  desolate 
and  practically  uninhabitable,  might  be  added. 

While  grains  are  undoubtedly  the  main  factor  in 
Canada's  agricultural  wealth,  there  are  other  crops  which 
are  exceedingly  profitable.  Fruits  of  various  kinds  are 
one  source  of  revenue  which  is  already  large  and  is 


THE     WEALTH     OF     CANADA  123 

steadily  expanding.  Apple  orchards  are  being  set  out 
farther  and  farther  north  each  year,  and  the  extreme 
limit  at  which  this  fruit  can  be  advantageously  grown 
has  not  been  finally  determined. 

London,  Eng.,  now  takes  a  large  part  of  Nova  Scotia's 
milHon  barrels  of  apples.  This  is  now  considered  an 
average  crop  for  the  province,  with  probabilities  of 
material  increase.  In  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley,  although 
apple-trees  are  fairly  plentiful  and  fairly  proKfic  even 
in  the  lower  parts,  among  the  habitants,  it  is  not  until 
one  reaches  the  Lake  Ontario  region  that  the  orchards 
become  conspicuous.  In  the  Niagara  district,  from  the 
river  to  and  around  the  western  end  of  the  lake,  and 
spread  out  well  towards  the  west,  there  are  miles  of 
thrifty  peach  and  apple  orchards,  and  acres  upon  acres 
of  luxuriant  vineyards. 

If  the  fruit  orchards  are  found  to  be  not  continuous 
as  the  traveller  passes  across  the  great  prairies  from 
Winnipeg  to  the  foot  of  the  Rockies,  it  is  not  because 
fruit  will  not  thrive  there,  but  for  the  reason  that  the 
farmers  have  elected  to  concentrate  their  efforts  upon 
growing  grain  or  raising  stock.  But  when  once  the 
southern  Rocky  Mountains  region  is  entered  —  and  one 
must  deflect  to  the  southward  from  the  main  Hne  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  taking  the  new  branch  — 
orchards  re-appear. 

The  Okanagon  Lake  district  is  deservedly  famous  for 
its  orchards.  "Along  the  beautiful  sheet  of  water  lie 
the  new  fruit  growing  centres  of  Kelewna,  Peachland, 
Summerland,  and  Penticton  —  musical  names  all.  To 
be  privileged  to  eat  real  apples  from  a  British  Columbia 


124  THE     COMING     CANADA 

orchard,  or  to  pick  real  rosy-cheeked  peaches  from  a 
Peachland  tree,  to  see  pear  and  plum  trees  laden  to 
their  limit,  and  flourishing  amid  their  irrigation  channels, 
is  to  be  impressed  with  the  fact  that  in  this  great  timber 
and  mining  province  of  Canada  fruit-growing  is  already 
an  established  industry,  where  you  may  pay  up  to  500 
dollars  an  acre  for  choice  orchard  lands."  * 

In  1903  the  experiment  of  shipping  apples  from  British 
Columbia  abroad  was  first  tried  as  a  commercial  venture, 
although  I  know  —  from  delightful  personal  experience 
—  that  the  C.  P.  R.  steamers  have  been  bountifully 
supplied  with  apples  and  other  fruit  for  many  years. 
Some  were  sent  to  Glasgow,  carried  well  across  the  conti- 
nent and  the  Atlantic,  and  sold  profitably.  Some  went 
to  Australia,  and  some  gained  a  gold  medal  at  a  London, 
Eng.,  exhibition.  However,  the  home  demand  is  not 
yet  so  over-supplied  that  orchardists  need  send  their 
apples  all  over  the  world  to  find  a  market. 

There  is  one  Canadian  fruit  that  is  peerless  of  its  kind; 
only  it  must  be  eaten  on  its  native  heath  to  get  all  the 
delight  for  the  palate  that  it  holds.  This  is  the  ''Mon- 
treal melon."  Its  'appearance  tends  rather  to  dis- 
courage the  American  epicure  who  has  for  his  ideal  the 
rough,  rusty  little  canteloupe,  because  the  Montreal 
melon  is  somewhat  suggestive  of  the  poorer  quality 
of  muskmelon.  But  when  once  the  gourmet  listens  to 
the  praise  of  the  waiter  who  places  the  half  of  one  of 
these  melons  before  him  and  tastes  —  he  is  a  convert 
at  once  and  a  devotee  forever  after.  It  is  a  pity  this 
fruit  will  not  stand  transportation  when  ripe,  else  would 

*  Frank  Yeigh,  Through  the  Heart  of  Canada. 


THE     WEALTH    OF    CANADA  125 

its  sale  in  cities  of  the  United  States  add  many  a  dollar 
each  year  to  Canada's  wealth. 

Of  the  Dominion's  wealth  in  timber  and  merchantable 
lumber,  there  are  abundant  evidences  on  every  hand. 
At  the  docks  of  Montreal  and  all  river  ports  where 
deepwater  craft  can  load,  the  immense  piles  of  sawn 
lumber,  vanishing  by  day  to  be  replaced  by  others  in 
the  night,  speak  for  themselves.  It  is  true  that  each 
year  adds  a  little  to  the  cost  of  producing  this  lumber, 
because  the  lumbermen  must  go  a  little  farther  away 
for  the  logs,  and  in  many  places  the  deforestation  has 
been  shamelessly  complete. 

Statisticians  claim  to  have  fixed  the  limit  of  time  for 
the  best  Canadian  white  pine  to  be  procurable,  unless 
the  government  gives  great  attention  to  conservation 
and  reforestation.  Officials  have  taken  these  matters 
well  in  hand  and  the  Forestry  Bureau  of  the  Interior 
Department  is  now  organised  and  vested  with  authority 
to  preserve  and  renew. 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  dwell  at  any  length  upon 
the  Dominion's  wealth  in  fur-bearing  animals.  It  is 
still  great,  but  not  comparable  with  what  it  was  in  the 
halcyon  days  of  les  voyageurs  et  les  coureurs  des  hois.  That 
there  is  profit  in  the  fur  business,  and  revenue  for  the 
government,  are  clearly  indicated  by  the  competition 
which  private  firms  and  indi\iduals  are  now  waging 
with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

There  is  little  danger  that  the  profit-yielding  shore 
and  deep-sea  fisheries  will  greatly  decrease;  because  of 
Nature's  generosity  in  replenishing  the  supply.  His- 
torically,  the  beginnings  and  growth  of   the  earliest 


126  THE     COMING     CANADA 

trading  companies  of  New  France  —  those  that  had  to 
do,  first  with  the  cod-fishing  on  the  Newfoundland 
Banks,  and  later  with  the  fur-trade  —  are  subjects  of 
great  interest,  and  the  stories  are  filled  with  incidents 
that  are  distinctly  thriUing.*  The  Coming  Canada  has 
little  to  fear  for  its  future  wealth,  if  the  present  intelli- 
gence in  developing  now  displayed  is  maintained,  and 
the  prosecution  watched  by  competent  officials. 

*  H.  P.  Biggar.     The  Early  Trading  Companies  of  New  France. 


CHAPTER  IX 
PHYSICAL  CANADA 

THE  eastern  three-fourths  of  the  Dominion,  from 
Labrador  in  the  northeast  to  Nova  Scotia  in  the 
southeast,  and  westward  until  the  great  central  plains 
have  been  crossed,  have  no  mountains  of  very  great 
altitude.  I  should,  perhaps,  say  ''excepting  the  extreme 
northern  part  of  Labrador."  But  our  knowledge  of 
that  peninsula  is  still  far  from  satisfactory.  Indeed,  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  beyond  a  smattering  of 
information  along  the  coast,  we  do  not  know  anything 
at  all  about  that  region.  It  may  be  —  as  has  been 
asserted  —  that  there  are  peaks  which  rise  to  a  height 
of  from  7000  to  8000  feet  above  sea-level;  but  from  the 
best  information  I  could  gather,  I  am  rather  incHned  to 
doubt  it. 

In  the  extreme  southeastern  section  of  Canada,  the 
highest  peak  is  Bald  Mountain,  in  New  Brunswick, 
2460  feet.  Besides  this  there  are  rarely  any  hills  w^hich 
attain  to  3000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  Shicksock  moun- 
tains of  the  Gaspe  peninsula  attain  to  3000  feet  in  certain 
peaks. 

If  it  does  not  tower  to  great  heights,  yet  the  Lauren- 
tian  plateau,  along  Georgian  Bay,  the  upper  end  of  Lake 
Huron,  and  the  whole  of  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior, 
is  extremely  interesting  to  the  geologist,  since  it  is  con- 


128  THE      COMING     CANADA 

sidered  to  represent  the  oldest  rock  formation  of  the 
globe.  In  this  aspect  of  the  relative  ages  of  the  two 
hemispheres,  it  is  manifestly  a  misnomer  to  call  America 
^'the  New  World."  This  hard,  close-grained  Lauren- 
tian  rock  presented  a  very  serious  problem  to  the  engi- 
neers who  built  the  first  trans-continental  railway  in 
Canada,  the  Canadian  Pacific.  It  was  a  most  difficult 
matter  to  cut  the  road-bed;  because  the  charges  of 
explosives,  no  matter  how  carefully  set  and  tamped,  blew 
straight  out  of  the  drill-holes  as  from  a  gun-barrel, 
without  shattering  the  adamantine  rock  at  all.  It  was 
only  when  heavy  charges  of  nitro-glycerine  were  used 
that  the  work  was  successfully  accomplished.  When  I 
passed  around  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Baikal,  Siberia, 
by  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway,  I  was  reminded  con- 
stantly of  this  section  of  the  Canadian  Pacific.  Con- 
ditions were  singularly  parallel  in  both  places.  The 
almost  imperative  necessity  for  double-tracking  the 
Canadian  line,  eastward  from  Port  Arthur,  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  getting  of  the  yearly  increasing  grain-crop 
of  the  North  West  to  market,  when  navigation  on  the 
Great  Lakes  is  closed,  is  a  task  from  which  the  engineers 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  naturally  shrink :  but  it  has  got 
to  be  faced  and  accompHshed. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  this  Laurcntian  belt  for  a  long 
time  presented  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  development 
of  regions  to  the  west  thereof;  and  it  was  many  years 
before  settlements  began  to  spread  northward  from  the 
one  available  thoroughfare.  But  now  that  it  is  found 
that  regions  which  had  been  considered  too  remote,  too 
unsuited  to  husbandry,  and  too  inhospitable  for  perma- 


PHYSICAL    CANADA  I29 

nent  settlements  are  really  desirable  in  many  ways,  the 
newer  railway  lines,  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  the 
National  Trans-continental,  and  doubtless  others  have 
been  or  will  be  located  north  of  the  Laurentian  belt. 
Construction  will  be  a  much  easier  problem  than  was 
that  which  faced  the  Canadian  Pacific  engineers. 

When  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  reached,  there  is 
presented  to  the  visitor's  eyes  a  wealth  of  mountain 
scenery  that  is  with  difficulty  matched  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world.  From  the  International  Boundary 
along  the  main  range  away  up  to  Mackenzie  Bay,  in  the 
extreme  north  of  Yukon  Territory,  above  the  Arctic 
Circle,  and  in  the  whole  of  British  Columbia,  including 
the  islands  off  the  coast,  there  is  *'a  world  of  mountains." 
There  are,  besides  the  parent  range,  the  subordinate 
chains,  the  Selkirks,  the  Coast,  the  Cascades,  and  spurs 
that  bear  local  names.  In  the  first  are  peaks  such  as 
Sir  Donald,  over  10,000  feet;  and  glaciers  such  as  the 
Illicillewait.  Here  is  a  Hst  of  names  of  mountain  peaks 
in  the  Canadian  Rockies,  any  one  of  which  will  give  all 
that  alpinists  can  ask  in  the  way  of  difficulties  to  sur- 
mount, and  a  reward  that  thrills:  Aberdeen,  Assiniboine, 
Baker,  Cathedral  Spires,  Cougar,  Logan,  Robson,  St. 
EHas,  Temple,  Vice-President,  Victoria.  But  I  wish 
to  give  a  full  chapter,  later  on,  to  this  subject  of  the 
Canadian  Rockies. 

Canada  is  most  bountifully  supphed  with  lakes  and 
rivers;  taken  together,  these  afford  facilities  for  inland 
navigation  and  intercommunication  that  are  almost 
unique.  Most  of  the  lakes  have  outlets,  and  therefore 
their  waters  are  fresh;    but  in   the  southern  part  of 


130  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Saskatchewan  Province  is  one  of  the  very  excessively 
dry  regions;  here  there  are  some  lakes  which  are  not 
drained.  The  water  is  strongly  alkaline  and  the  shores 
of  these  land-locked  lakes  are  heavily  incrusted  with 
mineral  deposits.  ''It  is  interesting  to  find  marine 
plants,  such  as  the  samphire,  growing  on  their  shores  a 
thousand  miles  from  the  sea  and  more  than  a  thousand 
feet  above  it."  In  many  places  the  water,  which  settles 
in  one  basin  to  form  a  small  lake,  overflows  and  meanders 
down  the  next  lower  level  until  again  it  settles  into 
another  lake.  There  is  not  always  a  well-defined  channel. 
As  a  consequence,  the  river  systems  are  frequently 
complex  and  tortuous.  The  successive  links  between  the 
lakes  have  been  given  different  names  by  the  Indians 
or  the  European  discoverers,  and  this  adds  to  confusion. 

The  Great  Lakes,  with  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  are 
deferred  to  another  chapter.  A  glance  at  the  map  shows 
that  Quebec,  Ontario,  Manitoba,  northern  Saskatchewan 
and  Alberta,  and  the  whole  of  the  North  West  Territories, 
are  honeycombed  with  lakes.  Indeed  the  low  and 
generally  level  character  of  the  land,  which  make  these 
lakes  and  rivers  inevitable,  is  one  of  the  embarrass- 
ments that  confront  the  Dominion  Government.  The 
waterlogged  land  is  dif!icult  to  drain,  and  yet  the  soil 
itself  is  admirably  suited  to  husbandry  and  stock-raising. 

In  the  Canadian  folk-lore,  there  is  hardly  a  lake,  from 
St.  John,  in  eastern  Quebec,  to  the  Great  Bear,  in  the 
North  West  Territories  and  crossed  by  the  Arctic  Circle, 
that  has  not  figured  in  one  or  more  of  these  stories. 
There  are  besides  these  many  historical  tales  which 
relate  the  hardships  borne  by  coureurs  des  hois  or  mission- 


PHYSICAL     CANADA  131 

aries  in  their  efforts  to  conquer  the  wilderness  or  uplift 
the  savage  inhabitants:  all  are  pathetic;  many  are 
tragic. 

I  cannot  imagine  a  more  tempting  summer  expedition 
for  strong  young  men  who  love  to  get  back  for  a  while 
to  Nature  now  and  then,  than  to  start  from  Winnipeg, 
Manitoba,  go  by  canoe  the  full  length  of  Lake  Winnipeg, 
because  its  shores  give  the  most  entrancing  spots  for  a 
camp;  then  make  their  way  by  the  smaller  lakes  and 
charming  connecting  streams,  with  here  and  there  a 
portage  that  adds  spice  to  hfe,  to  Nelson  River,  and 
down  that  stream  to  its  mouth  in  Hudson  Bay.  Once 
there,  I  should  not  be  happy  unless  I  could  take  a  good 
look  at  the  two  shores  of  the  bay.  For  those  who  like 
to  combine  exploration  with  recreation,  there  are  excellent 
opportunities,  especially  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  bay, 
north  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  post  at  the  mouth 
of  Great  Whale  River.  Some  way  of  getting  round  the 
Ungava  peninsula  and  Labrador  will  present  itself;  and 
at  the  end  of  the  summer,  I  should  return  to  dull  civi- 
lisation by  way  of  Newfoundland. 

But  the  Canadian  lakes  are  not  all  in  the  low  country: 
some  of  them  are  so  high  up  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
that  they  are  truly  amongst  the  clouds.  Travellers  by 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  get  ghmpses  of  some  of 
the  mountain  lakes  while  comfortably  seated  in  a  palace- 
car,  or  while  eating  a  most  delicious  breakfast  in  a  dining- 
car  as  it  runs  along  the  shore  of  Kootenay  or  Sicamous 
lake;  and  it  is  not  unUkely  one  item  of  the  meal  will  be 
fresh  fish  taken  just  a  few  minutes  before  from  one  of 
those  lakes.     I  have  many  times  had  that  tantalising 


132  THE     COMING     CANADA 

pleasure;  and  always  there  has  been  a  fierce  protest  that 
the  demands  of  profession  or  business  prevented  my 
leaving  the  sybaritish  luxury  of  the  train  that  I  might 
tramp  and  climb  and  for  an  indefinite  period  live.  One 
envies  the  surveyors  and  builders  of  the  railway  who 
first  forced  their  way  through  some  of  these  mountain 
canyons,  past  the  lovely  lakes,  along  the  tumbling 
streams.  Remnants  of  their  trails  are  here  and  there 
to  be  seen,  and  often  they  make  one  catch  one's  breath, 
when  they  seem  to  be  just  scratched  on  the  face  of  a 
precipice. 

After  having  crossed  the  continent  by  every  one  of 
the  principal  lines  of  railway,  both  in  the  United  States 
and  in  Canada,  I  still  thinlc  there  is  less  of  monotony 
along  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  than  there  is  in 
the  United  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  until  the  Rocky 
Mountains  are  reached.  When  the  Grand  Trunk 
Pacific  is  finished  it  will,  probably,  make  the  prairie  lose 
even  more  of  its  dreariness  and  sameness. 

Although  the  traveller  reaHses  some  time  before 
reaching  Winnipeg,  westward  bound,  that  the  mountains 
and  hills  have  been  left  behind,  he  does  not  really  begin 
to  see  ''the  boundless  prairies"  until  after  passing  well 
to  the  west  of  Winnipeg.  When  I  first  made  that 
journey,  I  must  admit  that  the  settlements  were  few  and 
far  between:  now  they  are  many.  Yet  even  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  it  did  not  seem  tedious  to  cross  the 
prairies.  The  railway  was  rarely  a  long  straight  stretch, 
so  long  that  the  rails  seemed  to  come  together  in  the 
distance  as  I  looked  back  from  the  rear  end  of  the  train. 
It  wound  about  the  low,  rolling  mounds  that  seemed  to 


PHYSICAL     CANADA  133 

be  like  billows  of  a  great  green  or  brown  sea,  suddenly 
deprived  of  motion. 

There  was  plenty  of  vegetation  and  the  wild  flowers 
were  innumerable.  In  the  lush  grass  there  were  herds  of 
antelopes  feeding,  or  frightened  into  panic  by  the  noise 
of  the  swiftly  moving  train.  But  even  then  the  buffaloes 
had  been  so  nearly  exterminated,  or  driven  far  away  by 
the  advance  of  civilisation,  that  nothing  remained  as  a 
reminder  of  them  but  skulls  and  heaps  of  bleached 
bones.  Coyotes,  jack  rabbits,  prairie-dogs,  and  other 
smaller  animals  were  plentiful,  and  the  co-tenants  of  the 
prairie-dogs,  the  owls  and  the  rattlesnakes,  were  to  be 
seen  whenever  we  passed  a  ''colony."  So  that  had  the 
land  itself  been  entirely  uninteresting  —  and  it  was 
rarely  that  —  there  was  sufficient  Kf e  to  make  the  trip 
anything  but  tedious  and  monotonous.  Always  there 
were  the  most  wonderful  atmospheric  effects;  deceiving 
the  eye  as  to  distances.  Now  the  settlements  are  so 
numerous  that  the  express  trains  pass  many  stations 
without  stopping  —  something  that  was  never  done 
twenty-five  years  ago  —  and  farmhouses  are  rarely  out 
of  sight.  The  prairies  are  great  grain  fields  or  stretches 
of  grazing  land.  The  latter,  however,  are  yearly  shrink- 
ing in  size  along  the  railways;  for  to  the  husbandman, 
the  bona  fide  householder  especially,  is  given  the  right 
of  way,  precedence,  and  government  protection  against 
aggressive  stockmen. 

But  the  most  conspicuous  change  in  the  Canadian 
prairies  is  the  development  of  railways  throughout 
southern  Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan,  and  almost 
equally  so  in  Alberta.     Where,  only  a  very  few  years 


134  THE     COMING     CANADA 

ago,  there  was  but  one  railway  in  this  entire  region,  the 
main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  there  are  now  three 
trunk  lines,  the  C.  P.  R.,  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  and 
the  Canadian  Northern,  to  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains;  while  Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan, 
as  far  as  Regina,  are  almost  as  much  cut  up  by  subordi- 
nate and  branch  lines  as  is  the  state  of  Indiana. 

Inasmuch  as  railways  are  not  often  built  merely  for 
the  pleasure  of  constructing  them,  and  because  there  is 
no  strategic  demand  for  any  of  the  numerous  tributary 
lines,  the  fact  that  there  are  so  many  in  this  region 
indicates  more  clearly  than  words  could  how  complete 
has  been  the  transformation  of  the  prairies,  from  lonely 
desolation  to  active  life. 

Aside  from  the  economic  aspects  of  Canada's  coasts 
and  bays,  these  outlying  bounds  demand  a  little  atten- 
tion because  of  their  association  and  physical  features; 
more  than  I  can  give,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  Sufl&cient  has 
been  said  of  the  history  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  Domin- 
ion, although  that  little  can  give  but  a  hint  of  this  inter- 
esting subject.  It  is  perhaps  unwise  to  say  that  it  was 
the  fisheries  of  the  American  coast  which  first  directed 
considerable  attention  to  the  New  World;  yet  it  is 
certain  that  the  efforts  of  the  first  trading  companies 
of  New  France  did  something  to  stimulate  further 
exploration  and  effort  to  maintain  possession  of  new 
territories.  It  is  rather  with  physical  features  that  we 
are  now  to  deal. 

The  province  of  New  Brunswick  has  something  like 
four  hundred  miles  of  coast,  sometimes  rocky,  in  other 
places  marsh.    The  local  names  recall  the  aborigines, 


PHYSICAL     CANADA  I35 

who  are  now  of  really  small  importance  in  the  active 
life  of  the  province.  Some  of  the  place  names  remind  us 
of  the  struggle  between  France  and  England:  struggles 
that  ended  only  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  and  yet  how 
dim  is  their  history! 

The  coast  of  New  Brunswick,  especially  along  the 
shores  of  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  is  very  popular  with 
Canadians  who  wish  to  get  away  from  the  cities  during 
the  summer;  and  not  a  few  citizens  of  the  United  States 
have  followed  the  lead  of  their  northern  neighbours 
in  establishing  summer  homes  in  New  Brunswick  and 
Nova  Scotia.  There  would  probably  be  more,  were  it 
not  for  the  annoyance  to  which  they  would  be  subjected 
by  U.  S.  Customs  officers  when  they  return  in  the 
autumn. 

St.  John,  christened  by  Champlain,  and  the  oldest 
incorporated  city  in  Canada,  is  of  most  importance  as 
a  commercial  centre.  It  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  deep 
estuary  which  penetrates  far  into  the  province,  to 
Queens,  Sunbury,  and  York  counties:  a  trip  by  steam- 
boat up  this  estuary  —  called  St.  John's  River  —  to 
Fredericton,  the  provincial  capital,  is  a  popular  excursion ; 
the  quaint  old  town  of  Fredericton  being  attractive  in 
many  ways.  St.  John's  River  is  bordered  with  villages 
and  towns  of  some  importance.  Many  visitors  are  seen 
there  during  the  summer. 

The  feature  of  this  part  of  the  coast  which  is  most 
famous  is  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  about  170  miles  long  and 
from  thirty  to  fifty  miles  wide.  Its  greatest  fame,  with 
boys  and  girls  studying  geography,  is  its  rushing  tide, 
rising  some  sLxty  to  seventy  feet.     At  the  northern  end 


136  THE    COMING    CANADA 

of  Chignecto  Bay,  an  arm  of  Fundy,  stands  the  town 
of  Amherst.  From  this  place  across  to  Port  Elgin  Bay, 
off  Northumberland  Sound  (which  is  between  the  main- 
land and  Prince  Edward  Island),  the  distance  is  only 
about  fifteen  miles;  and  yet  the  tides  on  the  Sound 
show  nothing  of  the  surprising  phenomenon  that  is 
witnessed  in  Fundy  waters. 

Nova  Scotia's  southern  coast  is  indented  by  many 
estuaries;  the  most  important  being  Halifax  Harbour, 
on  which  stands  the  city  that  was  for  a  long  time  a  port 
of  call  for  so  many  lines  of  trans-Atlantic  steamers.  It 
is  still  an  important  place,  but  its  glory  has  been  tem- 
porarily dimmed  since  the  large  steamers  pass  by  with- 
out stopping  for  coals  and  water.  As  it  is  open  all  the 
year  round,  Halifax's  importance  is  likely  to  be  recov- 
ered as  the  Dominion's  maritime  trade  expands.  As 
a  strategic  point  its  value  will  always  be  great.  The 
coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  Labrador,  and  the 
north  must  be  passed  by;  not  because  they  are  not 
important  —  at  present  or  prospectively  —  but  for  lack 
of  space. 

The  coast  of  British  Columbia,  from  the  southern  end 
of  Vancouver  Island  to  the  55  th  parallel  of  North  latitude 
(where  it  joins  Alaska),  is  an  extremely  interesting 
section.  The  scenery  is  grand,  the  natural  resources 
wonderful,  and  the  natives  are  still  a  subject  that  claims 
the  attention  of  ethnologists.  The  student  of  mankind 
will  find  the  Haida  Indians  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands 
an  attractive  subject,  even  if  their  arts  have  been  greatly 
modernised.  The  totem-posts  and  huge  canoes,  most 
elaborately  and  symbolically  carved,  are  familiar  objects 


PHYSICAL    CANADA  137 

in  all  ethnological  museums.  After  what  has  been  said 
of  the  natural  wealth,  this  part  of  the  Dominion  is 
especially  interesting  to  the  tourist  and  the  sportsman, 
whose  claims  are  to  receive  attention  in  the  next 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  X 

CANADA    FOR    THE    TOURIST  AND 
SPORTSMAN 

1MUST  ask  pardon  of  my  Canadian  friends  for  appro- 
priating the  word  '' American"  to  designate  specific- 
ally the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  I  fully  respect 
the  right  of  those  who  were  born  and  brought  up  in  the 
Dominion  to  consider  themselves  as  much  "American" 
as  anyone  hailing  from  the  southern  side  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  River  or  the  International  Boundary.  Most 
Canadians  are  willing  to  let  their  ''Yankee"  friends  call 
themselves  "Americans"  and  to  speak  of  them  as  such. 
I  differentiate  for  convenience  only,  and  I  do  not  wish 
to  hurt  anyone's  feelings.  After  all,  I  have  noticed 
that  a  good  many  faithful  subjects  of  His  Gracious 
Majesty  King  George,  sojourning  in  Canada,  insist  upon 
being  differentiated  as  "Enghshmen,"  "Scotchmen," 
"Canadians." 

A  tourist  may  be  defined  as  one  who  travels  for  the 
pleasure  of  doing  so  merely  to  widen  his  horizon  or  with 
a  dilettante  desire  to  increase  his  fund  of  information 
about  the  world  and  its  inhabitants.  This  description 
being  accepted,  the  American  tourist  is  too  prone  to 
consider  it  his  duty  to  rush  over  to  Europe.  As  soon  as 
Fortune  has  smiled  upon  him  so  kindly  as  to  leave  him 
with  more  ready  money  than  suffices  to  provide  abun- 


TOURIST     AND     SPORTSMAN  139 

dantly  for  those  dependent  upon  him,  he  books  his 
passage  for  the  Old  World,  before  he  knows  anything 
about  his  own  country.  Very  often  it  is  a  teacher  who 
turns  tourist  during  the  summer  vacation,  in  which  case 
the  pronoun  must,  more  than  half  the  time,  be  made 
feminine,  or  inclusive  of  both  sexes,  if  a  general  state- 
ment is  made. 

I  remember  being  told  by  the  captain  of  a  Pacific  liner, 
that  long  experience  and  close  observation  justified  his 
saying  that  very  few  Americans  (and  he  meant  both 
Canadians  and  people  from  the  United  States)  had 
earned  the  right  to  travel  abroad,  because  not  one  in  a 
hundred  knew  his  own  country  at  all.  On  the  voyage, 
when  he  made  that  remark,  there  were  a  number  of 
tourists  on  board  the  steamer,  going  to  Japan,  China, 
the  Philippines,  the  East  Indies,  British  India,  on  to 
Europe  by  the  Suez  Canal,  and  then  home  to  settle 
down  again. 

As  I  was  disposed  to  think  as  the  captain  did,  we 
agreed  to  interrogate  our  fellow  voyagers  to  see  how 
much  they  knew  of  their  respective  countries  by  actual 
travel.  I  must  say,  on  my  own  behalf,  that  the  captain 
had  previously  admitted  I  had  gained  the  right  to  see 
all  the  rest  of  the  world,  because  I  had  already  been  in 
all  but  two  or  three  of  our  states  at  that  time,  as  well  as 
into  the  four  divisions,  Oklahoma,  Indian,  Arizona,  and 
New  Mexico,  which  were  then  territories,  but  have  now 
been  admitted  into  the  Union  of  States.  I  had,  too, 
been  in  Canada,  from  east  to  west. 

When  we  compared  notes  towards  the  end  of  the 
voyage,  I  was  astonished  to  find  that  not  one  American 


I40  THE     COMING     CANADA 

or  Canadian  had  travelled  anytliing  like  thoroughly  in 
North  America.  Most  of  my  fellow  passengers  had 
seen  Niagara  Falls;  one  or  two  had  entered  the  Mam- 
moth Cave;  a  few  had  crossed  the  Mississippi  River; 
several  had  been  to  the  Yosemite  Valley;  one  or  two  had 
gone  through  the  Yellowstone  Park;  not  one,  besides 
myself,  had  been  in  the  Gulf  States,  and  therefore  they 
knew  nothing  about  New  Orleans.  Many  of  the  Ameri- 
cans had  never  been  to  their  National  Capital,  Wash- 
ington. Few  of  the  Canadians  had  travelled  in  the 
United  States.  Not  any  of  the  Americans  had  ever 
been  in  the  Dominion  until  they  joined  the  Canadian 
Pacihc  train  at  Montreal,  North  Bay,  or  Winnipeg,  or 
boarded  the  steamer  at  Vancouver  or  Victoria.  Yet 
those  who  were  really  tourists  seemed  to  feel  that  they 
must  go  abroad  in  order  to  see  something  of  the  world. 

I  am  now  more  than  ever  convinced  of  the  wisdom  of 
that  captain's  remark,  because  I  have  had  greater  oppor- 
tunities to  widen  my  own  horizon,  and  to  observe  my 
fellow  countrymen  as  tourists  in  many  parts  of  the 
world.  American  tourists  (the  word  is  now  used  in- 
clusively) have  a  great  deal  to  see  and  do  between  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  and  the  Arctic  Ocean,  before  they 
need  cross  either  the  Atlantic  or  the  Pacific  for  the  mere 
pleasure  of  traveUing. 

Of  course  I  would  not  be  understood  as  being  disposed 
to  hinder  the  student  or  the  teacher  from  going  to  the 
Old  World  for  research,  experience,  or  broadening; 
the  personal  pleasure  and  benefit  are  compensated  by 
the  ability  to  help  others.  I  am  speaking  of  the  tourist, 
the  "globe  trotter."     It  is  not  my  province  just  now 


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TOURIST      AND     SPORTSMAN  141 

to  discuss  the  enormous  wealth  of  material  for  the  tourist 
in  the  United  States  of  America.  But  even  the  Ameri- 
can who  has  fairly  well  explored  the  States,  has  yet  a 
good  deal  that  he  may  do  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada, 
before  he  has  exhausted  the  resources  of  home,  and  must 
turn  to  Europe,  Asia,  or  Africa  for  new  worlds  to  conquer. 

Several  suggestions  have  already  been  given  in  these 
pages;  but  perhaps  the  touring  that  they  connote  may 
be  a  little  too  strenuous  for  the  average  traveller  who 
is  solely  on  pleasure  bent.  For  such,  there  is  hardly  a 
railway  line  in  the  Dominion  which  does  not  offer 
attractions.  Every  one  of  the  principal  railway  com- 
panies advertises  summer,  or  winter,  or  all  the  year 
round  resorts  that  are  alluring,  and  the  corporations  have 
made  effort  to  enhance  natural  charms  by  providing 
facilities  for  getting  to  these  places,  and  for  looking 
after  the  creature  comforts  of  patrons.  As  yet,  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  is  in  the  lead,  with  Banff, 
Revelstoke,  Glacier  House,  and  minor  points  on  the 
main  line,  or  newer  ones  on  some  of  the  branches.  But 
the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  the  Canadian  Northern,  the 
Intercolonial,  and  other  lines  now  offer  their  attractions, 
and  these  are  being  added  to  each  year. 

There  are  several  sections  of  the  Dominion  that 
possess  great  attraction  for  the  tourist  and  the  sports- 
man. Some  of  these  I  wish  to  discuss  specifically  in 
separate  chapters,  such  as  the  Great  St.  Lawrence  Basin, 
from  the  Httle  lake.  Bear's  Head,  to  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence;  the  Canadian  Rockies;  the  Hudson  Bay 
territory,  and  the  pro\'ince  of  Manitoba.  But  there  is 
much  left  even  after  cutting  off  such  large  slices. 


142  THE     COMING     CANADA 

The  tourist  who  takes  his  pleasure  in  yachting  has 
almost  infinite  possibilities  along  the  eastern  coasts  of 
the  Dominion,  where  there  are  plenty  of  good  harbours, 
excellent  fish,  and  suppHes  of  all  kinds  to  be  had  for 
reasonable  prices.  Such  a  traveller  should  prepare  him- 
self for  the  cruise  by  reading  about  the  places  he  is  going 
to  visit,  for  they  are  rich  in  history  and  sentimental  or 
romantic  association.  If  the  land  of  Evangeline  has 
been  transformed  beyond  physical  recognition,  there 
still  remain  the  romance  and  perfume  of  bygone  times. 
Grand  Pre  is  still  on  the  shore  of  Minas  Basin,  Nova 
Scotia:  to  be  sure,  it  is  now  a  railway  station  and  the 
forest  primeval  has  disappeared  forever. 

A  word  of  warning,  based  upon  personal  experience, 
may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  It  is,  to  watch  the 
weather  carefully,  especially  if  cruising  in  a  sailing 
craft.  In  the  summer,  when  the  yachtsman  is  sure  to 
seek  the  Canadian  coast,  the  fog  often  comes  in  quickly 
and  is  so  dense  as  to  make  navigation  exceedingly 
dangerous.  Then,  too,  the  wind  frequently  plays 
awkward  tricks,  either  in  rising  to  a  sudden  gale,  intro- 
duced by  violent  squalls,  or  in  dropping  to  a  calm  just 
when  the  sailing  craft  is  in  a  tight  place. 

The  important  provinces.  New  Brunswick,  Nova 
Scotia,  and  Newfoundland  of  course,  have  been  so 
thoroughly  described,  that  all  needed  information  is 
readily  procured;  but  one  of  the  most  attractive  bits 
of  the  Dominion,  for  the  tourist,  is  not  so  well  known 
as  are  the  other  eastern  portions.  Just  about  the 
centre  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  there  is  a  group  of 
thirteen  rocky  islets,  the  Magdalen  Islands.     They  are 


TOURIST    AND     SPORTSMAN  143 

fifty  miles  from  Prince  Edward  Island  to  the  eastward; 
and  Newfoundland  is  ninety  miles  still  farther  east. 
Although  these  seemingly  bleak  rocks  have  a  popula- 
tion of  some  eight  thousand  souls,  they  are  not  well 
known  and  are  rarely  visited.  Yet  their  history  is 
interesting,  ''for  they  were  involved  in  the  various 
conflicts  between  England  and  France,  and  were  fre- 
quently the  subject  of  treaties  and  conventions  between 
the  two  Powers." 

It  is  not  impertinent  to  remark  here  that  some  WTiters 
still  insist  upon  speaking  of  Newfoundland  as  the  oldest 
British  colony.  That  honour,  I  am  sure,  belongs  to  the 
Bermudas.  Newfoundland  came  into  the  British  colonial 
system  at  the  same  time  as  Nova  Scotia,  not  earlier  than 
162 1.  On  a  Spanish  map  of  151 1,  the  Bermudas  are 
marked  as  a  British  colony.  E.  J.  Payne,  a  careful 
student  of  British  North  American  history,  says  of  the 
Bermudas:  "EngHsh  colonists  estabhshed  themselves 
on  St.  George's  Island  in  161 2  under  a  grant  from  the 
Virginia  Company.  Fresh  relays  of  colonists  arrived 
and  after  the  settlement  of  a  large  body  in  161 9,  the 
administration  became  vested  in  a  governor,  council, 
and  elective  assembly."  The  visitor  to  the  Magdalen 
Islands  who  is  so  fortunate  as  to  make  friends  with  any 
of  the  older  residents,  will  gain  a  rich  reward  in  the  tales 
of  the  sea  which  most  of  those  folks  can  tell. 

It  will  be  the  sportsman,  probably,  who  is  more  likely 
to  push  his  way  up  the  Labrador  coast,  for  to  that 
country  more  and  more  fishermen  are  going  each  sum- 
mer. The  accounts  of  sociological  and  ethnological 
study  with  which  we  have  been  favoured  by  several 


144  THE     COMING     CANADA 

writers  lately,  indicate  that  the  good  work  of  evangelisa- 
tion and  civilisation,  already  more  than  well  begun, 
offers  a  rich  field  for  the  philanthropist.  It  would  be 
ungracious  not  to  mention  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Wilfred 
Thomason  Grenfell,  to  whom  not  only  I  am  greatly 
beholden,  but  all  who  have  visited  Labrador  are  equally 
indebted. 

The  northern  portions  of  the  Dominion  offer  endless 
attractions  to  the  tourist.  Not  only  is  the  scenery 
varied  and  rarely  tame,  but  the  successful  effort  which 
is  being  made  to  extend  the  limit  of  the  inhabited  and 
cultivated  zone  far  into  those  north  lands  appeals 
strongly  to  all  visitors.  By  the  time  this  book  is  in  the 
hands  of  readers,  it  will  probably  be  possible  to  go  by 
train  from  Winnipeg  all  the  way  to  the  shores  of  Hudson 
Bay.  It  will  almost  certainly  be  possible  to  cross  the 
Rocky  Mountains  by  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway 
through  the  more  northern  pass  which  it  has  selected 
for  its  right  of  way.  Besides,  there  will  be  other  branch 
lines  of  the  various  great  railway  systems  built  into 
this  Wonderland  of  the  North.  With  all  these  facilities 
at  his  service,  the  tourist  or  sportsman  will  have  his 
horizon  much  expanded. 

It  is  a  httle  difficult  to  write  of  the  attractions  which 
British  Columbia  holds  forth  to  the  tourist  and  the 
sportsman,  without  seeming  to  indulge  in  extravagance 
which  taxes  the  credulity  of  those  who  have  not  had 
actual  experience.  Mountains,  lakes,  glaciers,  canyons, 
babbling  brooks,  mighty  rivers,  primeval  forests,  land- 
scape and  marine  view,  all  phases  of  natural  scenery  are 
presented  in  magnificent  quantities.     Then  the  pleasing 


TOURIST     AND     SPORTSMAN  145 

results  of  man's  effort  in  availing  himself  of  agricultural 
possibilities  have  developed  great  orchards  and  culti- 
vated fields  which  speak  for  themselves. 

Of  big  game  and  little  game,  feathered  and  four- 
footed,  there  is  an  abundance;  although,  as  is  but 
natural,  each  year  necessitates  going  a  little  farther 
afield  to  secure  the  gratification  of  killing  the  big  ani- 
mals. The  ambitious  tourist  who  likes  to  blaze  his  own 
trails  will  find  that  a  considerable  part  of  extreme 
northern  British  Columbia  has  not  yet  been  explored 
thoroughly.  He  may  easily  add  a  valuable  page  or 
two  to  the  records  which  will  hereafter  be  utiHsed  by 
writers  who  will  do  justice  to  the  trails  among  the  world 
full  of  hills  within  the  Hmits  of  British  Columbia. 

There  may  yet  be  glaciers  hidden  away  in  those 
mountains  that  are  not  known,  but  a  word  may  be  said 
of  one  which  is  easily  accessible.  Soon  after  the  traveller 
by  the  Canadian  Pacific  line  has  crossed  the  crest  of 
the  Rockies  and  entered  the  Selkirks,  the  train  stops 
at  Glacier  House,  usually  for  a  meal,  because  the  heavy 
gradients  and  sharp  curves  make  it  unadvisable  to  add 
a  dining-car  to  the  weight  of  the  train,  and  whether  it 
be  breakfast,  dinner,  or  supper,  the  meal  is  a  good  one. 

From  the  station  platform  or  the  hotel  verandah,  one 
sees  a  great  glacier  stretching  back  far  into  the  moun- 
tains; and  in  summer  it  looks  rather  grimy  for  each 
passing  engine  adds  a  Httle  to  the  soot  upon  it.  This  ice- 
river,  like  all  those  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Cordil- 
leran  system  of  which  we  know  anything,  is  technically 
said  to  be  ''in  retreat."  That  is,  it  is  evident,  from  the 
moraines  which  continue  far  down  below  the  present 


146  THE     COMING     CANADA 

end  of  the  ice,  that  all  these  glaciers  formerly  reached 
down  much  farther  than  they  do  now.  The  slow 
movement  downward  is  not  sufficient  to  compensate 
the  loss  by  melting.  Unless  conditions  change,  all  these 
glaciers  will  disappear.  The  great  Muir  Glacier  in 
Alaska  may  be  an  exception,  but  I  am  not  certain;  it 
gives  birth  to  a  goodly  number  of  icebergs  each  year! 

It  is  astonishing  how  the  ice-river  at  Glacier  House 
holds  the  gaze  of  those  who  look  at  it  for  the  first  time, 
particularly  young  people  and  children,  as  if  they  were 
fascinated.  I  have  known  such  to  stand  gazing  in 
silent  wonder  until  the  bell  rang  for  passengers  to  entrain, 
and  thus  miss  the  meal  that  had  been  waiting  for  them. 
I  have  known,  too,  older  passengers  who  were  booked 
for  passage  to  Japan  or  China  by  the  connecting  steamer, 
to  telegraph  to  Vancouver  to  transfer  their  reservation 
to  the  next  steamer,  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  later, 
in  order  that  they  might  stay  and  make  the  intimate, 
famiUar  acquaintance  of  the  glacier. 

In  the  summer,  when  the  salmon  are  running,  there  is 
good  sport  for  the  fisherman  in  all  the  lower  reaches  of 
the  British  Columbia  rivers.  As  this  is  the  season  when 
the  ablebodied  men  and  women  are  likely  to  be  engaged 
in  the  hop-fields  or  other  harvesting  work,  the  sports- 
man may  have  to  depend  upon  an  old  squaw  to  take 
him  in  a  canoe.  I  remember  an  amusing  incident  which 
came  as  part  of  my  first  summer  in  British  Columbia 
waters.  It  was  August  and  the  salmon  were  plentiful 
and  in  prime  condition  as  they  came  in  from  the  sea. 
The  old  dame  who  had  contracted  to  paddle  while  I 
trolled,  when  she  found  that  her  ''King  George  Man" 


Fishing  Camp,  Nokthern  Quebec  Province 


Speckled  Trout  Fishing,  Algonquin  National  Pari 


TOURIST     AND     SPORTSMAN  I47 

(the  Chinook,  lingua  franca,  for  an  EngKshman  and 
therefore  all  white  men)  knew  how  to  wield  a  paddle, 
was  inclined  to  shirk  her  duty.  When  called  upon  to 
resume  her  paddle,  which  she  had  laid  down  for  a  few 
minutes  to  tidy  up  the  little  craft,  at  first  she  attempted 
by  pantomime  to  flatter.  That  failing,  she  demurred 
volubly  and  vehemently,  but  unavailingly.  She  had 
to  paddle  and  let  the  King  George  Man  fish! 

The  visitor  to  the  remoter  sections  of  Canada,  those 
which  are  really  the  most  attractive  to  the  thorough 
tourist  and  keen  sportsman,  will  surely  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  making  acquaintance  with  some  of  the  Mounted 
Police,  those  original  ''Rough  Riders"  from  whom 
Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt  borrowed  the  title  for  his 
regiment  during  the  Spanish-American  war.  They 
know  the  country  as  no  other  man  can;  they  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  best  hunting,  shooting,  and  fishing 
grounds,  and  willingly  give  useful  "tips"  to  anyone 
who  asks  for  information.  If  the  visit  of  the  stranger 
happens  to  be  at  a  time  when  the  demands  of  duty  are 
momentarily  relaxed,  no  guide  can  be  found  comparable 
with  a  Mounted  PoHceman:  they  are  experts  in  every 
art  which  contributes  to  the  gratification  and  comfort 
of  tourist  or  sportsman.  Then  too,  if  these  guardians 
are  not  of  direct,  personal  aid  to  the  visitor,  the  influ- 
ence of  their  presence  is  felt  everywhere  and  contributes 
greatly  to  his  comfort.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  state- 
ment that  on  the  three  hundred  mile  road  from  White 
Horse  to  Dawson,  the  traveller  is  as  safe  as  in  any  part 
of  Canada.  I  wish  the  same  thing  might  be  said  of  the 
Alaskan  side  of  the  Klondike  region. 


148  THE     COMING     CANADA 

If  anyone  can  read  Mr.  Frank  Yeigh's  account  of  a 
trip  along  the  trail  from  Glacier  House  station,  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway,  to  the  Cougar  Caves,  without 
longing  for  the  opportunity  to  enjoy  that  experience 
for  himself,  I  shall  be  greatly  surprised.  From  the 
railway  a  small  mule  pack-train  starts  for  Deutsch- 
man's  Cabin  far  away  to  the  north,  near  the  head  of 
Cougar  Valley.  It  descends  into  the  Illicillewaet  River 
gorge,  and  then  goes  up  and  up  to  the  cabin.  Thence  a 
stiff  scramble  brings  one  to  the  caves,  bored  by  the 
rushing  river  deep  down  through  the  limestone. 

It  is  said  that  until  Charles  Deutschman  discovered 
these  Selkirk  caves  in  October,  1904,  the  one  natural 
curiosity  that  the  Dominion  seemed  to  lack  was  caves. 
The  stigma  is  now  completely  removed,  for  the  three 
superimposed  sets  of  caves,  at  different  levels,  are  not 
by  any  means  contemptible  rivals  of  the  Mammoth 
Cave,  Kentucky,  or  the  Luray  Caverns,  Virginia.  ''One 
of  the  three  series  of  caves  is,  curiously  enough,  practi- 
cally filled  with  ice,  and  this  fact  produces  some  striking 
effects.  Instead  of  limestone  stalactites,  here  there  are 
stalactites  of  purest  ice  and  of  wondrous  beauty,  espe- 
cially when  illuminated  with  the  magnesium  light.  Ice 
deposits  fill  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  making  other 
strange  animal  and  bird  forms.  One  such  ice-bank 
resembles  a  gigantic  sea-lion  vainly  trying  to  scale  the 
dark  wall  overhead.  From  a  cavernous  opening  there 
hung  suspended  an  ice  Niagara  —  a  fall  transfixed  in 
the  grasp  of  the  frost  king,  and  a  more  beautiful  object 
could  not  well  be  imagined  in  the  thick  darkness  beneath 
or  in   the  sunlit  world  above.     One  ice-filled  gallery 


TOURIST     AND     SPORTSMAN  149 

ended  in  a  perfect  fireplace,  as  if  to  mock  the  chill  of 
the  glacial  interior."  * 

These  wonderful  caves  are  still  inaccessible  to  all 
save  those  who  are  able  to  rough  it  and  do  some  very 
hard  climbing.  I  must  bring  this  chapter  to  a  close 
with  a  recommendation  to  both  tourist  and  sportsman 
to  make  personal  acquaintance  with  the  Mackenzie 
River  and  all  the  streams  of  British  Columbia.  All  of 
them  will  well  repay  the  labour  involved  in  getting  to 
them,  and  they  are  sufficiently  off  beaten  tracks  to  give 
the  compensation  of  novelty  wliich  most  travellers 
enjoy. 

*  Through  the  Heart  of  Canada. 


CHAPTER  XI 
CANADA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 

IF  there  were  sufficient  space  at  my  disposal,  I  think 
it  would  be  right  to  begin  this  chapter  with  some 
consideration  of  the  intercourse  between  the  British 
colonies  in  North  America,  from  the  founding  of  Virginia 
and  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  the  French  colony 
in  Canada  until  the  transfer  of  France's  rights,  in  1763. 
There  should  then  follow  a  discussion  at  some  length  of 
the  relations  between  the  older  and  the  newer  British 
colonies  during  the  brief  interval  until  the  breaking  out 
of  the  War  of  American  Independence  in  1775.  Limi- 
tations are  put  upon  me,  however,  and  I  must  pass  over 
those  most  interesting  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  years. 
The  action  of  the  General  Congress  of  the  thirteen 
colonies,  in  October,  1774,  presaged  the  independence 
which  was  soon  to  follow,  and  I  think  this  may  be  taken 
as  a  starting  point  for  a  discussion  of  the  intercourse 
between  the  United  States  and  Canada.  It  is  not  at 
all  surprising  that  British  writers  call  John  Dickinson's 
address  to  the  inhabitants  of  Quebec  '*a  high  sounding 
appeal."  Dickinson  was  a  member  of  the  first  Conti- 
nental Congress,  when  the  people  were  already  girding 
up  their  loins  for  a  struggle  with  England.  He  drew  up 
a  communication  from  the  colonists  to  their  "friends 


CANADA     AND     UNITED     STATES     151 

and  fellow  subjects"  inviting  the  Canadians  to  join  in 
opposing  English  tyranny.  But  if  we  put  ourselves,  as 
much  as  possible,  in  the  position  of  the  American  colonists 
at  that  time,  we  cannot  endorse  this  severe  criticism. 

It  was,  I  admit,  rather  grandiloquent,  yet  thoroughly 
consistent  with  forensic  eloquence  of  the  time,  to  depict 
the  shade  of  the  great  Montesquieu  as  saying  to  the 
Canadian  habitants:  ''The  happiness  of  a  people  in- 
evitably depends  upon  their  Hberty  and  their  spirit  to 
assert  that  liberty.  The  value  and  extent  of  the  ad- 
vantages tendered  you  are  immense.  This  work  is  not 
of  man;  you  have  been  conquered  into  hberty,  if  you  act 
as  you  ought.  Seize  the  opportunity  presented  to  you 
by  Providence  itself.  You  are  a  small  people,  com- 
pared with  those  who,  with  open  arms,  invite  you  into 
fellowship.  The  injuries  of  Boston  have  roused  and 
associated  every  colony  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Georgia. 
Your  province  is  the  only  Unk  wanting  to  complete  the 
bright  and  strong  chain  of  union.  Nature  has  joined 
your  country  to  theirs;  do  you  join  your  political  inter- 
ests; for  their  own  sakes,  they  never  will  desert  or 
betray  you." 

The  appeal  failed  entirely  in  its  object,  even  if  the 
American  leaders  had  reason  to  expect  a  different  result 
by  arguing  from  the  first  display  of  feeHng  on  the  part 
of  the  French  Canadians,  immediately  after  the  break- 
ing out  of  hostihties  in  New  England.  Canada  was 
almost  totally  indifferent  when  the  Revolution  com- 
menced, and  therefore  the  Continental  commander, 
General  Richard  Montgomery,  wdth  a  body  of  troops 
from   New   England,   had   httle   difficulty   in   invading 


152  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Canada,  capturing  Chambly  and  Montreal  and  carry- 
ing the  attack  right  up  to  the  walls  of  Quebec. 

During  this  episode  many  French  Canadians  and  even 
some  British  malcontents,  openly  or  secretly  gave 
assistance  to  the  Americans;  "but  even  then  the  large 
majority  of  the  French  Canadians  remained  neutral, 
and,  if  some  joined  the  ranks  of  the  invaders,  others, 
including  especially  the  higher  ranks  of  the  population, 
supported  her  cause.  Here  was  a  people  lately  con- 
quered, under  the  rule  of  an  alien  race.  A  golden 
opportunity  was  given  them,  it  seemed,  to  recover 
their  freedom.  Why  did  the  French  colonists  not 
throw  in  their  lot  whole-hearted  with  the  EngHsh 
settlers  in  North  America?  Why  did  they  prefer  to 
remain  under  the  British  Crown?"*  The  eminent 
authority  answers  his  own  questions,  and  all  students 
of  Canadian  history  concur  in  saying  that  in  those  few 
years  of  British  domination,  the  habitants  had  already 
learnt  what  freedom  and  sympathy  meant  as  they  had 
never  known  under  French  rule.  They  were  too  con- 
tented to  take  any  risk  by  changing  masters! 

It  is  lamentable  that  even  in  the  remote  times  of  one 
hundred  and  forty  years  ago,  there  were  unmistakable 
signs  of  animosity  between  Britons  on  the  Canadian 
side  of  the  border  and  their  fellows  on  the  southern  side 
thereof.  Those  Canadian  French  "did  not  love  the 
English  from  England;  they  loved  less  their  English 
neighbours  in  America;  and  they  were  not  disposed 
to  overthrow  the  British  Government  in  order  to  sub- 
ject themselves  to  the  rule  of  the  English  colonists." 

*  Lucas,  op.  cit. 


CANADA     AND     UNITED     STATES      153 

Yet  a  little  comfort  is  to  be  gleaned  from  even  this 
unsuccessful  effort  at  diplomacy;  and  it  is  that  there 
appeared  a  disposition  to  lessen,  if  not  to  wipe  out 
entirely,  the  prejudice  on  the  part  of  the  Puritans  against 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  Of  the  three  commis- 
sioners sent  as  avant  courriers  to  induce  les  habitants  to 
join  in  revolt,  one  was  a  Quaker  and  two  were  Romanists. 

The  War  of  American  Independence  actually,  if  not 
avowedly,  began  with  the  famous  skirmish  at  Lexington, 
April  19th,  1775.  Between  that  date  and  the  first  real 
battle  of  the  war.  Bunker  Hill,  June  17th  of  the  same 
year,  there  was  begun  the  effort  to  effect  the  conquest 
of  Canada.  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  both  on 
Lake  Champlain  (and  considered,  as  has  been  already 
pointed  out,  the  ''Keys  of  Canada's  southern  gate"), 
were  surprised  and  captured  without  much  difficulty, 
because  they  were  in  wretched  condition  and  inade- 
quately garrisoned  and  supplied.  Governor  Guy  Carle- 
ton  (afterwards  Lord  Dorchester)  had  urged  the  repair 
of  these  posts,  and  their  equipment  or  abandonment. 

It  was  through  Carleton's  effort  that  the  siege  of 
Quebec  failed,  and  while  that  siege  had  lasted  five 
months,  he  took  justifiable  pride  in  the  fact  that  all 
attempts  of  the  besiegers  had  been  defeated.  From  the 
Canadian's  point  of  view,  too  much  importance  can 
hardly  be  attached  to  Carleton's  success  at  Quebec. 
Americans,  when  considering  this  important  episode, 
cannot  but  regret  that  Benedict  Arnold,  who  had  ''dealt 
the  hardest  blow  to  the  British  cause  in  Canada,"  did 
not  share  the  fate  of  his  associate,  ^lontgomery,  who  was 
killed  in  an  attempt  to  capture  Quebec  by  creeping  along 


154  THE     COMING     CANADA 

the  river  bank  from  Wolfe's  Landing,  under  Cape 
Diamond  into  the  lower  town. 

There  is  little  more  to  be  said  about  relations  between 
Canada  and  the  United  States  during  the  rest  of  the 
Revolution.  A  few  engagements  took  place,  but  they 
were  of  no  importance,  and  the  close  of  the  war  left  the 
boundary  practically  as  it  now  is  from  the  Great  Lakes 
to  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  except  that  the  Ashburton 
Treaty  of  1842  allowed  the  state  of  Maine  to  project 
farther  to  the  north  in  the  provinces  of  Quebec  and  New 
Brunswick  than  Canadians  declared  it  should  do. 

By  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  September  3rd,  1783,  the 
Mississippi  River  was  accepted  as  the  American  boundary 
on  the  west.  I  refrain  from  commenting  at  length  upon 
the  anomalous  condition  which  has  arisen  because  of 
the  declaration  that  the  northwestern  point  of  the  Lake 
of  the  Woods  shall  be  *'the  northwestern  point  of  the 
United  States."  The  result  is  that  a  piece  of  the  state 
of  Minnesota  is  detached  from  the  main  body,  and  is 
a  sort  of  ''No  Man's  Land."  From  that  corner  of  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  the  boundary  was  to  be  drawn  "on 
a  due  west  course  to  the  River  Mississippi."  All  the 
parties  in  interest  and  the  plenipotentiaries  were  labour- 
ing under  the  mistake  that  the  source  of  the  Mississippi 
was  very  much  farther  north  than  it  is.  Consequently 
this  determination  of  the  prolongation  of  the  boundary 
called  for  a  geographical  impossibility.  Probably  there 
was  confusion  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  with  the 
Mississippi.  The  determination  of  the  frontier  from 
the  Mississippi  westward  to  the  Pacific  is  likewise  a 
matter  which  must  be  deferred  for  the  moment. 


CANADA  AND  UNITED  STATES  155 

The  second  article  of  the  treaty  of  1783  reads:  "And 
that  all  disputes  which  might  arise  in  future  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Boundaries  of  the  said  United  States  may  be 
prevented,  it  is  hereby  agreed  and  declared,  that  the 
following  are  and  shall  be  their  Boundaries."  All  who 
are  specially  interested  should  read  the  treaty:  it  is 
enlightening  to  see  how  small  a  part  of  the  present 
domain  was  included  in  the  United  States  of  1783.  That 
simple  adjustment  was  but  a  momentary  affair.  The 
control  of  North  America  west  of  the  Mississippi  River 
in  the  United  States,  and  beyond  the  very  vague  bound- 
ary of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  territory  in  the 
north,  was  entirely  unprovided  for.  That  was  an  almost 
unknown  wilderness.  To  be  sure  some  of  the  American 
colonies,  newly  born  States,  claimed  jurisdiction  west- 
ward to  the  Pacific  Ocean  between  certain  parallels  of 
latitude  or  assigned  lines  which  were  their  northern  and 
southern  boundaries.  The  deHmitation  of  boundaries 
as  between  the  United  States  and  Canada  was  com- 
plicated by  almost  indescribably  vague  conditions. 
Therefore  the  "first  settlement  of  the  quarrel  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  old  North  American  colonies 
left  an  aftermath  of  troublesome  questions,  causing 
constant  friction,  endless  negotiations,  and  a  succession 
of  supplementary  conventions."  * 

The  first  boundary  dispute  was  the  determination  of 
just  which  one  of  three  rivers,  all  emptying  into  Passa- 
maquoddy  Bay  and  each  claimed  to  be  the  St.  Croix  of 
Champlain's  days,  was  actually  that  stream.  The 
boundaries  that  have  been  mentioned  begin  "from  the 

*  Lucas,  op.  cit. 


156  THE     COMING      CANADA 

North- West  Angle  of  Nova  Scotia,  viz.,  the  Angle  which 
is  formed  by  a  line  drawn  due  North,  from  the  source  of 
St.  Croix  River  to  the  Highlands."  John  Jay,  then 
special  envoy  to  the  Court  of  St.  James  to  negotiate 
with  the  British  Government  for  more  friendly  relations, 
concluded  a  treaty  on  November  19th,  1794,  by  the  fifth 
article  of  which  this  matter  of  determining  the  source 
of  the  St.  Croix  River  was  left  to  three  commissioners, 
one  to  be  appointed  by  each  Government,  and  the  third 
to  be  chosen  by  the  other  two.  The  treaty  was  ratified 
in  August,  1795,  and  in  the  following  year  the  commis- 
sioners began  their  work;  the  two  appointed  by  the 
respective  Governments  choosing  an  American  jurist  as 
their  associate.  Another,  explanatory  treaty  had  to 
be  signed  by  the  two  Governments  to  absolve  the  com- 
missioners from  responsibility  beyond  their  specific  duty 
of  fixing  the  river's  source.  When  the  boundary  was 
defined,  a  considerable  area  was  cut  off  from  New 
Brunswick;  naturally  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the 
inhabitants  and  Canadians  generally.  This,  however, 
did  not  settle  the  boundary  disputes  in  this  region, 
because  although  the  commissioners  identified  the  St. 
Croix  River  from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  they  did  not 
actually  define  the  boundary  down  the  course  of  the 
river  and  out  to  the  mouth  of  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  nor 
did  they  attempt  the  impossibility  of  estabhshing  that 
line  ''due  North  from  the  source  of  St.  Croix  River  to 
the  Highlands";  because  those  hills  do  not  extend  far 
enough  east  to  meet  such  a  right  fine.  The  dispute 
about  this  last  mentioned  line  nearly  brought  on  war 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.      The 


CANADA  AND  UNITED  STATES  157 

boundary  was  not  settled  until  sixty  years  later.  Igno- 
rance of  geography  that  any  schoolboy  to-day  ought  to 
be  ashamed  to  display,  was  responsible  for  all  this 
trouble.  I  have  gone  into  details  to  show  how  compli- 
cated have  been  these  boundary  disputes;  but  I  have 
not  given  all  the  particulars  of  this  case. 

Ashburton's  treaty,  by  which  —  on  January  28th, 
1847  —  the  northeastern  boundary  between  Canada  and 
the  United  States  was  delimited,  has  always  been 
declared  by  Canadians  to  give  the  latter  country  terri- 
tory to  which  Great  Britain  had  an  incontestable  claim. 
The  determination  of  the  ownership  of  islands  in  Passa- 
maquoddy  Bay  was  another  cause  of  dispute.  So  far 
as  the  islands  alone  are  concerned,  the  question  was 
settled  by  arbitration  in  November,  181 7,  but  the  actual 
boundary  between  the  two  countries  out  into  the  Bay 
of  Fundy  has  not  yet  been  delimited.  This  awaits 
action  under  the  Treaty  of  April  11,  1908,  for  the  de- 
limitation of  International  Boundaries  between  Canada 
and  the  United  States. 

In  the  west,  the  dispute  over  lands  in  the  Oregon  or 
Columbia  territory  was  bitter,  and  the  slogan  ''54-40 
or  fight"  indicated  the  American  feeling.  Calm  com- 
promise or  friendly  arbitration  allayed  the  tension  — 
even  if  either  rarely  gave  satisfaction.  In  time,  the 
extreme  northern  parts  of  the  International  Boundary 
were  delimited.  The  Klondike  dispute  was  likewise 
settled  without  recourse  to  extreme  measures,  even  if 
Canada  was  far  from  satisfied.  The  delimitation  of 
the  boundary  between  Yukon  Province  and  Alaska  was 
marked   by   a   joint   commission   in    191 1    only.     The 


158  THE     COMING     CANADA 

transfer  of  Russia's  rights  in  Alaska  to  the  United  States, 
March  30,  1867,  gave  rise  to  disputes  as  to  fishing-rights 
in  Behring  Sea.  Arbitration  decided  that  the  United 
States  has  no  exclusive  rights. 

''The  last  phase  in  the  evolution  of  the  Boundary 
line  between  Canada  and  the  United  States  is  the  Treaty 
of  nth  of  April,  1908,  'for  the  delimitation  of  Inter- 
national Boundaries  between  Canada  and  the  United 
States,'  by  which  machinery  is  provided  'for  the  more 
complete  definition  and  demarcation  of  the  International 
Boundary,'  and  for  settHng  any  small  outstanding 
points  such  as,  e.g.,  the  boundary  line  through  Passa- 
maquoddy  Bay."  * 

From  the  close  of  the  War  of  American  Independence, 
1783,  until  President  Madison,  in  181 2,  issued  a  procla- 
mation which  brought  on  the  "War  of  181 2"  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  the  principal 
feature  that  marks  the  intercourse  between  Canada  and 
the  United  States  was  the  action  of  those  who  were 
called  United  Empire  LoyaHsts  and  their  treatment, 
not  only  by  Canada  and  the  British  Government,  but 
by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as  well. 

When  the  Revolution  broke  out,  with  the  firing  of 
that  first  shot  by  "the  embattled  farmers"  at  Concord 
and  Lexington,  it  was  estimated  that  of  the  entire  white 
population  of  the  thirteen  American  colonies,  fully  one- 
third,  or  about  seven  hundred  thousand,  were  actively 
or  passively  loyal  to  Great  Britain.  There  were  fairly 
reUable  authorities  who  put  the  number  at  even  higher 
figures;     declaring    that    they    decidedly    outnumbered 

*  Lucas,  op.  lit. 


Fossil  Hinting,  Mt.  Robson  District,  B.  C 


CANADA  AND  UNITED  STATES  159 

those  who  were  opposed  to  British  methods  and  eventu- 
ally in  favour  of  separation  from  the  Mother  Country, 
even  if  that  action  involved  war. 

It  is  certain  that  a  preponderance  of  those  Loyahsts 
was  in  New  York,  the  capital  of  which  colony  was  in 
possession  of  the  British  from  September,  1776,  until 
its  evacuation  after  the  surrender  in  1783.  A  majority 
of  the  white  citizens  of  Pennsylvania,  as  well  as  those  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  also  were  Loyalists;  and 
in  all  the  other  colonies  a  very  large  number  of  the 
better  classes  of  citizens  were  British  sympathisers. 
Probably  there  were  over  thirty  thousand  of  the  men  in 
regularly  organised  military  companies,  besides  those 
who  carried  on  a  guerilla  warfare  in  South  Carolina  and 
other  colonies. 

Americans  have  come  only  lately  to  look  upon  these 
*' Tories,"  as  they  were  called  contemptuously,  with 
that  fairness  to  which  most  of  them  were  entitled. 
Surely  no  one  will  charge  such  a  man  as  the  late  John 
Fiske  with  disloyalty  to  American  institutions;  yet  he 
and  other  reputable  writers  compare  the  Loyahsts  of 
1776  with  the  Union  sympathisers  in  the  Southern 
Confederacy  during  the  Civil  War  of  186 1-5.  Others 
refuse  to  see  anything  good  in  the  Loyalists  and  measure 
,them  entirely  by  their  participation  in  such  outrages  as 
the  Wyoming  Valley  massacre  and  similar  acts  which 
were  brutal  and  indefensible. 

A  long  list  might  be  given  of  names  which  command 
respect;  men  who  deprecated  separation.  It  is  an 
interesting  fact  that  the  relations  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  Dominion  of  Canada  are  now  regulated  by  just 


l6o  THE     COMING     CANADA 

such  principles  as  were  urged  in  the  interests  of  England 
and  her  thirteen  original  colonies  a  hundred  and  thirty 
odd  years  ago.  Gov.  Thomas  Hutchinson,  a  great 
LoyaHst,  to  whom  tardy  justice  has  recently  been  done 
by  impartial  historians  in  the  country  wherein  his 
motives  and  acts  were  for  so  long  misunderstood  and 
misrepresented,  took  that  position.* 

During  the  war  both  Revolutionists  and  Loyalists 
displayed  bitter  hatred  of  each  other.  The  latter's 
estates  were  confiscated,  individuals  imprisoned,  banished, 
disquahfied  from  holding  office,  and  some  who  ven- 
tured to  return  after  the  war  were  subjected  to  severe 
penalties  provided  for  by  legislative  enactments.  The 
VI th  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  reads:  ''That  there 
shall  be  no  future  confiscations  made,  nor  any  prosecu- 
tions commenced  against  any  person  or  persons,  for  or 
by  reason  of  the  part  which  he  or  they  may  have  taken 
in  the  present  war;  and  that  no  person  shall  on  that 
account  suffer  any  loss  or  damage  either  in  his  person, 
Hberty  or  property,  and  that  those  who  may  be  in 
confinement  on  such  charges  at  the  time  of  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  Treaty  in  America,  shall  be  immediately  set 
at  liberty,  and  the  prosecutions  so  commenced  be 
discontinued." 

In  spite  of  that  obligation,  those  Loyalists  who  re- 
turned failed  to  secure  return  of  confiscated  estates  or 
any  generous  treatment,  and  there  was  nothing  for  them 
to  do  but  leave  the  United  States.  More  than  thirty- 
five  thousand  went  to  Canada,  and  with  them  a  large 
number  of  faithful  negro  servants.  Most  of  the  latter 
*  Cf.  Canada,  lydg-igoo,  Sir  John  G.  Bourinot. 


Transport,  Athabaska  River,  56°  40'  N. 


Transport,  Athabaska   Ri\er 


CANADA  AND  UNITED  STATES  l6l 

were  subsequently  deported  to  Sierra  Leone,  Africa.  A 
majority  of  the  whites  settled  in  New  Brunswick;  others 
in  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley  and  along  the  shores  of  the 
Great  Lakes.  The  British  Government  tried  to  do  its 
best  to  compensate  these  Loyalists  for  the  loss  of  their 
property,  by  making  liberal  grants  of  land.  Later  some 
of  the  original  refugees,  or  the  descendants  of  others, 
made  their  way  back  to  the  United  States;  while  many 
of  the  best  famiHes  in  the  Dominion  trace  their  ancestry 
back  to  these  United  Empire  LoyaHsts. 

Very  briefly  stated,  the  causes  which  led  up  to  the  war 
of  1812-15,  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
were,  first;  the  right  of  search  of  neutral  vessels  in  time 
of  war  for  contraband  articles;  and  second;  impressment 
of  British  sailors  who  were  members  of  neutral  vessels' 
crews.  The  United  States,  with  abundant  reason, 
contended  that  Great  Britain  was  carrying  out  her 
alleged  rights  in  these  matters  with  absolute  disregard 
for  the  rights  of  others.  War  was  declared  and  although 
ultimate  victory  was  gained  by  the  United  States,  yet 
the  main  principles  at  issue  were  not  formally  decided. 
Impressment  has  long  since  been  discontinued;  but  the 
right  of  search  has  not  yet  been  positively  fixed. 

Canada  suffered  more  than  did  Great  Britain  in  the 
War  of  181 2,  and  Canadian  pubHcists  have  justly  con- 
tended that  it  was  not  fair  to  attack  the  proxinces 
because  of  faults  for  which  the  Canadians  were  in  no 
way  responsible;  but  this  was  a  weak  position.  The 
white  population  of  Canada,  in  181 2,  was  estimated  at 
half  a  million;  that  of  the  United  States  at  six  and  a 
half  miUions.    Yet   the   results  of   some   of   the  land 


l62  THE     COMING     CANADA 

engagements  were  not  at  all  discreditable  to  Canada. 
During  the  war  the  United  Empire  Loyalists  contributed 
much  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  provincial  militia  and 
to  the  successful  defense  of  their  country.  Peace  was 
welcomed  by  all  in  America,  whether  Canadians  or 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  One  of  the  notable  effects 
of  that  war  was  the  solidifying  of  the  various  racial 
elements  in  Canada;  all  classes,  Gaul  or  Briton,  united 
in  support  of  continued  connection  with  Great  Britain. 

During  the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States,  the  senti- 
ment of  the  Canadian  people  was  generally  against  the 
Federal  Government.  Although  no  open  assistance 
was  afforded  the  Confederacy,  yet  we  know  very  well 
that  the  privileges  of  Halifax  and  other  harbours  were 
granted  to  Confederate  privateers  in  contravention  of 
neutrality.  Many  Canadians  looked  upon  all  this  as 
a  fair  requital  for  invasion  in  the  past;  and  their  acts 
did  not  make  for  friendly  relations. 

Although  a  patriotic  and  loyal  citizen,  I  have  no 
excuse  to  offer  for  the  failure  of  my  Government  to  pre- 
vent the  Fenian  raids  of  1866.  In  the  month  of  April 
of  that  year,  a  small  body  of  Irishmen  made  a  demon- 
stration on  the  New  Brunswick  frontier.  It  had  no 
effect  in  the  way  the  aggressors  had  hoped;  but  it  did 
contribute  towards  rousing  into  activity  the  movement 
for  confederation  which  ere  long  resulted  in  the  creation 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  In  June,  1866,  a  number 
of  Fenians  crossed  the  Niagara  River  at  Buffalo  and 
gained  an  insignificant  victory  over  a  small  force  of 
"Toronto  Volunteers"  (mostly  students).  A  few  days 
later  they  surprised  and  defeated  a  small  detachment  of 


CANADA  AND  UNITED  STATES   163 

militia.  But  upon  learning  that  a  considerable  body 
of  regulars  and  volunteers  under  competent  officers  was 
coming  against  them,  these  Fenians  scattered  and 
returned  to  the  United  States,  where  the  ringleaders 
were  arrested  by  order  of  the  Government.  Similar 
raids  were  made  in  the  eastern  townships  of  Lower 
Canada,  and  were  equally  unsuccessful.  The  Canadian 
authorities  displayed  admirable  clemency  in  their  treat- 
ment of  captured  bandits;  not  one  of  whom  was  executed, 
as  all  might  lawfully  have  been.  No  indemnity  was  ever 
made  by  the  United  States  for  damage  inflicted  and 
expenses  incurred  by  a  neighbour,  although  the  police 
responsibihty  was  indisputable.  I  am  sorry  that  I 
must  close  this  chapter  by  saying  that,  in  my  opinion, 
while  personal  relations  are  most  friendly,  others  have 
not  been  so  since  1775,  and  a  good  deal  must  be  forgiven 
and  forgotten  on  both  sides  before  they  can  be. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  LURE  OF  CANADA 

SOME  of  the  attractions  of  Canada  have  been  already 
mentioned;  but  they  were  of  a  different  nature 
from  the  one  which  is  to  be  discussed  in  this  chapter. 
We  are  now  to  consider  a  very  practical  matter;  one  that 
has  greatly  affected  the  United  States  and  is  likely  to 
do  so  even  more,  unless  measures  are  taken  to  counteract 
the  lure  of  Canada. 

Investors  who  seek  opportunities  to  exploit  mines, 
build  railways,  or  engage  in  any  other  industrial  or 
commercial  enterprise,  are  made  welcome  in  the  Domin- 
ion and  are  afforded  the  fullest  protection  by  the  laws, 
as  well  as  equal  opportunity  by  the  people.  But  the 
policy  of  the  officials  is  not  to  make  any  stupendous 
effort  to  attract  such  investors;  whereas  every  allure- 
ment which  can  be  fairly  set  forth  and  brilliantly  pic- 
tured is  being  held  up  to  induce  settlers  from  the  United 
States,  from  Europe,  or  from  any  other  part  of  the 
globe  to  come  in  and  possess  themselves  of  some  of 
the  millions  of  acres  which  are  awaiting  the  farmer  or 
the  stockman.  These  lands  are  represented,  and  quite 
truthfully,  as  merely  waiting  to  be  tickled  when  they 
will  laugh  with  plenty. 

It  may  be  contended  that  the  effort  which  the  Depart- 


THE     LURE     OF     CANADA  165 

ments  of  the  Interior  and  of  Agriculture,  especially,  are 
making  to  induce  immigration  from  the  United  States, 
contradicts  a  statement  of  the  last  chapter  that  there 
is  in  Canada  a  lack  of  friendhness  for  her  neighbour, 
to  be  detected  in  certain  matters.  Yet  I  think  such 
a  possible  charge  will  be  withdrawn  when  conditions 
are  carefully  considered.  After  all,  is  there  anything 
altruistic  in  drawing  away  from  the  United  States 
175,000  people  in  one  year,  as  was  done  by  Canada  in 
191 2?  These  figures,  and  they  are  rather  appalhng, 
represent  the  emigration  from  the  States  into  the 
Dominion,  and  the  people  themselves  were,  without 
exception,  the  kind  that  the  United  States  could  least 
afford  to  lose.  They  were  nearly  all  from  the  territory 
west  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  principally  from  the 
northwestern  states;  and  if  they  did  not  actually 
abandon  farms,  homesteads,  or  ranches,  they  certainly 
left  a  gap  to  be  filled  by  people  who  are,  for  the  moment 
at  least,  less  desirable  than  the  emigrants,  if  they  are 
not  absolutely  undesirable.  In  newspaper  comment 
upon  the  scarcity  of  farm  hands  in  the  Middle  West, 
insufficient  importance  has  been  attached  to  this  flow 
of  farmers  and  the  like  into  Canada. 

As  has  been  said,  the  pubHc  lands  of  Canada  are 
surveyed  in  almost  precisely  the  same  way  as  is  the 
similar  domain  in  the  United  States;  technically  by 
base  and  meridian,  township  and  range.  That  is, 
townships  six  miles  square  are  laid  off  by  Hnes  running 
as  nearly  true  north  and  south  and  east  and  west  as 
may  be.  This  township  is  marked  off  into  sections  of 
one  mile  square  (640  acres),  and  the  section  is  sub- 


l66  THE     COMING     CANADA 

divided  into  quarter  sections.  A  quarter  section  is 
taken  as  the  unit  for  preemption.  Of  the  thirty-six 
sections  in  a  township,  two  are  reserved  from  homestead 
entry,  and  are  designated  ''School  Sections."  That  is, 
the  1280  acres  which  these  sections  contain  are  sold  to 
cash  purchasers  and  the  money  received  is  held  as  a 
fund  to  build  school  houses,  maintain  them,  and  generally 
to  defray  all  the  expenses  of  public,  absolutely  free 
education. 

There  are,  too,  certain  sections  withdrawn  from  public 
entry,  because  they  were  granted  as  a  subsidy  to  rail- 
ways. The  railway  lands  are  sold  by  the  grantee  upon 
favourable  terms  and  the  proceeds  go  into  its  treasury. 
In  the  case  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  the  original 
land  grant  was  extremely  liberal,  and  without  it  the 
building  of  the  line  would  have  been  greatly  delayed, 
if  it  had  not  been  rendered  impossible  thirty  years  ago; 
but  this  subject  of  railway  lands  economically  con- 
sidered belongs  in  a  later  chapter. 

The  public  land  surveys  have  not  yet  been  extended 
north  of  a  hne  drawn  from  the  middle  of  the  east  bound- 
ary of  Manitoba,  northwesterly  to  the  56th  parallel 
of  latitude  in  Alberta;  and  there  are  some  unsurveyed 
tracts  in  southwestern  Alberta.  That  is  to  say,  only 
about  the  southern  one-third  of  these  three  provinces, 
Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta,  has  been  sur- 
veyed and  made  available  for  preemption  entry.  The 
total  area  of  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  is  504,190  square 
miles.  What  the  area  of  Manitoba  is,  since  its  northern 
boundary  was  thrown  much  farther  north,  I  do  not 
know;  previous  to  that  it  was  74,000  square  miles.    Not 


THE     LURE     OF    CANADA  167 

all  of  the  public  land  within  the  surveyed  districts  is 
open  to  homestead  entry.  The  Dominion  Government 
has  set  aside  certain  tracts  as  reservations  for  Indians, 
or  for  forest  preserves,  or  public  parks,  or  experimental 
stations.  But  all  agricultural  land  in  Manitoba,  Sas- 
katchewan, and  Alberta  which  has  been  surveyed  (and 
not  actually  occupied  or  reserved)  is  open  to  preemption 
as  homesteads. 

Every  person  who  is  the  actual  head  of  a  family,  and 
every  single  man  over  eighteen  years  of  age,  may  preempt 
one  quarter  of  a  section  (160  acres),  provided  that  person 
is  a  British  subject,  or  has  declared  his  intention  to  be- 
come such.  When  making  the  entry  for  this  preemption, 
a  fee  of  $10  must  be  paid,  and  if  the  preemptor  compHes 
with  the  regulations,  to  be  mentioned  presently,  this  is 
the  only  money  payment  required  for  a  bona  fide  home- 
stead entry.  The  provision  that  the  applicant  for  such 
entry  must  be  the  sole  head  of  a  family,  manifestly 
permits  a  widow,  having  minor  children  of  her  own 
dependent  upon  her  for  their  support,  to  take  up  a 
quarter  section. 

The  appHcation  for  this  homestead  entry  is  supposed 
to  be  made  in  person  at  the  local  Land  Ofhce,  principal 
or  subordinate.  These  offices  are  established  through- 
out the  three  provinces  so  numerously  as  to  obviate  the 
necessity  for  travelhng  any  great  distance:  this  is  a 
most  important  consideration.  An  entry  by  proxy, 
upon  certain  Hberal  conditions,  may  be  made  by  the 
father,  mother,  son,  daughter,  brother,  or  sister  of  the 
intending  homesteader.  Provision  is  also  made  for 
the  preliminary  entry  to  be  forwarded  by  telegram,  in 


l68  THE     COMING     CANADA 

case  of  urgency,  the  necessary  formalities  being  attended 
to  in  person  later  on. 

The  homesteader  acquires  no  title  to  his  land  at  once, 
and  he  may  not  dispose  of  his  rights.  Cancellation  of 
the  entry  is  provided  for  in  certain  circumstances  and 
upon  completing  proper  formalities.  The  preemptor 
gets  a  patent,  conferring  absolute  rights  in  fee  simple, 
when  he  has  held  the  homestead  for  his  own  exclusive 
use  (or  as  the  head  of  a  family)  for  three  consecutive 
years  from  the  date  of  the  original  entry;  provided  he 
has  resided  thereon  at  least  six  months  in  each  of  those 
three  years,  or  from  the  date  when  he  commenced  his 
residence;  provided,  also,  that  he  has  erected  a  habit- 
able house  on  the  quarter  section;  provided,  also,  that 
he  has  cultivated  so  much  of  the  land  each  year  as  is 
satisfactory  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  the  fact 
being  determined  by  duly  appointed  inspectors;  and 
provided,  finally,  that  he  is  then  actually  a  British 
subject. 

Actual  residence  upon  this  particular  quarter  section 
is  waived  in  case  the  homesteader  has  been  residing  on 
a  farm  of  at  least  eighty  acres  in  compact  area,  which  is 
within  nine  miles  of  his  homestead.  Such  farm  must 
have  been  owned  and  occupied  by  himself,  or  by  his 
father,  mother,  son,  daughter,  brother  or  sister.  Tliis 
liberal  provision  secures  to  a  purchaser  of  a  farm  his 
homestead  rights,  and  it  also  permits  a  newcomer  to 
make  his  home  temporarily  with  relatives.  There  are 
some  districts,  where  the  population  is  sparse  or  the 
preemptions  not  numerous,  in  which  a  homesteader  may 
secure  another  quarter  section  of  public  land  adjoining 


THE     LURE     OF     CANADA  169 

his  homestead,  upon  payment  of  $3.00  per  acre.  But 
to  secure  this  privilege,  certain  duties  are  required:  the 
applicant  must  complete  the  formalities  required  to 
secure  a  patent  (title)  for  his  original  homestead,  before 
a  deed  for  the  additional  quarter  section  is  given  him, 
although  he  may  enter  upon  possession  thereof;  he  must 
have  resided  on  his  homestead  or  on  the  additional  pre- 
emption for  at  least  six  months  of  each  six  years  subse- 
quent to  the  date  of  entry  upon  his  original  homestead; 
in  addition  to  the  cultivation  requirements  upon  his 
actual  homestead,  he  must  have  cultivated  fifty  other 
acres  satisfactorily,  either  on  his  homestead  or  on  the 
preemption. 

Furthermore,  in  certain  districts  and  in  particular 
circumstances,  a  homesteader  may  obtain  a  purchased 
homestead,  upon  payment  of  $3.00  per  acre.  In  this 
case,  the  specific  duties  required  are :  residence  upon  the 
quarter  section  so  entered  for  sLx  months  in  each  of  three 
years  subsequent  to  the  date  of  such  entry;  cultivating 
fifty  acres  thereof  in  a  satisfactory  manner;  erecting  a 
house  of  the  value  of  at  least  three  hundred  dollars 
thereon.  This,  it  will  be  understood,  permits  of  an  aHen 
acquiring  a  homestead  upon  very  favourable  terms. 
In  the  case  of  a  British  subject,  he  may  secure  the  privi- 
lege of  a  purchased  homestead  provided  he  resides  on 
his  patented  homestead,  within  nine  miles  of  the  pur- 
chased one. 

By  a  combination  of  all  these  methods  of  acquiring 
public  lands,  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  secure  an  estate  of 
640  acres,  or  one  full  section.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  the 
first  lure  to  the  intended  settler  is  made  as  attractive  as 


170  THE     COMING     CANADA 

possible,  in  that  the  possession  of  a  farm  is  provided  for 
upon  easy  terms.  Before  leaving  this  subject,  however, 
it  is  pleasing  to  say  that  those  settlers  who  have  been 
in  residence  long  enough  to  secure  their  patents,  have 
built  their  residences  and  farm  buildings,  and  become 
forehanded  through  successful  cultivation,  are  always 
most  kind  in  extending  a  helping  hand  to  the  new- 
comers who  are  without  the  ready  cash  to  purchase 
building  material,  implements,  and  live  stock  immedi- 
ately required.  I  have  known  of  many  such  cases  of 
disinterested  kindness  in  Alberta  province,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Calgary  and  Edmonton.  In  an 
emigrants'  sleeping  car  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way, I  once  found  a  number  of  Welsh  people  who  were 
going  to  settle  north  of  Regina  and  Moosejaw,  Saskat- 
chewan Province.  Not  one  family  head  had  sufficient 
ready  money  to  do  more  than  pay  the  preHminary  fee 
for  homestead  entry  and  keep  souls  and  bodies  together 
for  perhaps  a  year.  But  the  man  who  was  in  charge 
of  the  party,  himself  an  old  settler,  assured  me  that 
nobody  would  come  to  want;  because  building  materials, 
farming  implements,  seed,  etc.,  could  he  had  on  credit 
and  upon  reasonable  terms  when  he  and  other  home- 
steaders who  had  received  their  patents,  stood  security. 
Every  resident  would  lend  a  hand  to  put  up  houses  for 
the  newcomers,  who,  until  their  own  dwellings  were 
ready,  would  be  cared  for  on  the  established  ranches  and 
farms. 

A  specific  case  or  two  will  be  interesting,  and  I  give 
them  in  Mr.  Frank  Yeigh's  words,*  although  I  have 

•  Op.  cit. 


THE     LURE     OF     CANADA  17I 

myself  heard  these  very  same  stories  from  acquaintances 
in  Canada.  "In  the  year  1883  a  young  man  took  up 
a  homestead  not  far  from  the  southern  boundary  of 
Manitoba.  This  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  province, 
when  opportunities  were  not  so  numerous  as  now,  and 
wheat  brought  only  forty  cents  a  bushel,  compared  with 
nearly  three  times  that  price  to-day.  After  locating 
his  quarter  section  and  paying  the  land  fee,  the  settler 
in  question  had  scarcely  a  cent  left.  By  working  for 
a  neighbouring  farmer,  enough  money  \/as  earned  to 
build  a  shack  and  buy  a  supply  of  provisions.  During 
the  first  year,  five  acres  of  land  were  broken,  a  neigh- 
bour's horses  being  borrowed  for  the  task.  The  second 
year  the  would-be  farmer  was  able  to  buy  a  yoke  of 
oxen,  working  during  the  summer  for  the  same  farmer. 
By  the  third  year,  however,  he  put  in  all  his  time  on  his 
own  homestead;  at  the  end  of  the  year  his  patent  was 
secured  and  he  thus  started  on  a  career  of  independence. 
Now  the  settler  is  worth  seventy-five  thousand  dollars, 
all  made  on  his  quarter  section  homestead  that  cost 
him  originally  but  the  ten  dollar  Government  fee. 
Essential,  however,  to  his  success  was  a  determination 
to  win,  a  pluck  that  overcame  obstacles  and  a  spirit 
that  refused  to  be  daunted  by  disappointments  and 
discouragements.  This  t^'pe  of  settler  will  always  win 
a  competence  in  Western  Canada." 

Another  young  man  settled  in  the  Riding  Mountain 
district,  Manitoba.  ''Neighbours  assisted  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Httle  structures  that  did  duty  as  house  and 
barn  for  the  first  season,  for  the  settler  in  this  case  was 
practically  penniless,  besides  carrying  the  burden  of  a 


172  THE     COMING     CANADA 

large  and  growing  family.  The  successive  years  in- 
volved struggle  and  endurance,  but  happily  in  ever- 
lessening  degree,  until  prosperity  had  fully  come,  making 
him  the  owner  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  choice 
land  and  a  splendid  brick  house  with  suitable  outbuild- 
ings, a  property  valued  at  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 
One  of  the  daughters  has  won  honours  in  a  Western 
college,  which  she  entered  from  the  little  prairie  public 
school.  Before  this  particular  homesteader  came  to 
Canada,  he  was  a  huckster  in  an  English  city,  where  he 
gained  a  most  precarious  living,  with  absolutely  no  pros- 
pects for  an  improved  condition.  But  possessing  the 
qualities  of  frugality,  industry,  and  perseverance,  and 
with  no  capital  except  health  and  strength,  yet  having 
a  determination  to  win  out,  he  has  proved  what  is  within 
the  range  of  possibility  for  others  similarly  situated.'* 
Twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago,  it  was  exceedingly 
difficult  and  expensive  to  get  building  materials  to  these 
prairie  farms  in  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta,  and  the 
Land  office  authorities  were  very  liberal  in  construing 
the  regulations  defining  the  habitations.  Very  often 
the  first  residence  was  a  sod-covered  roof  and  the  house 
mostly  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  This,  however, 
rarely  served  after  the  first  year,  during  which  the  settler 
almost  always  managed  to  get  enough  lumber  to  build 
a  rough  shack  for  himself  and  family,  if  he  had  one. 
As  human  beings  can,  when  needs  must,  better  put  up 
with  rough  quarters  than  will  farm  animals,  the  settler 
often  seemed  to  give  first  thought  to  housing  comfort- 
ably his  span  of  horses  or  yoke  of  oxen.  When  the  three 
years  were  passed  and  he  came  into  possession  of  his 


THE     LURE     OF     CANADA  1 73 

patent,  he  at  once  had  an  asset  upon  which  to  raise 
needed  funds.  The  banks  in  these  cases  have  always 
been  extremely  liberal,  and  their  consideration  has  been 
rewarded  with  prosperity;  not  only  for  themselves,  but 
in  the  rapid  development  of  the  country.  The  astonish- 
ing number  of  branch  banks  throughout  the  agricultural 
sections  testifies  not  alone  to  the  need  of  facilities  for 
moving  the  crops,  but  equally  to  a  determination  to 
help  the  development  in  every  way. 

The  right  type  of  settler  will  demand  something  more 
than  his  quarter  section  of  land,  his  residence  and  farm 
buildings,  his  live  stock,  and  his  implements.  He  will 
think  of  his  children's  future;  and  throughout  these 
agricultural  provinces  (as  in  Canada  almost  everywhere) 
ample  provision  is  made  for  education.  There  is  but 
one  school  system  in  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  and 
Alberta,  that  of  the  free  public  schools.  All  these 
schools  are  free  to  all  children,  whether  their  parents 
are  British  subjects  or  not,  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
fifteen.  Attendance  is  not  yet  absolutely  compulsory, 
yet  very  few  heads  of  families  ever  neglect  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  great  privileges  offered  their  children.  In 
some  localities  where  there  are  colonies  of  peasants  who 
do  not  speak  English,  the  limit  of  age  is  conveniently 
stretched  to  let  older  children,  and  even  their  parents, 
get  a  conversational  acquaintance  with  that  tongue. 

In  no  settled  district  is  the  school  house  more  than  a 
mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  home,  for  the  school 
laws  provide  that  a  new  school  district  shall  be  formed 
wherever  eight  or  ten  children  are  unprovided  with 
pubHc    school    advantages.     In   many    districts   where 


174  THE     COMING     CANADA 

farms  are  farther  apart,  an  omnibus  or  wagon  of  some 
kind  is  sent  around  every  school  day  to  gather  up  the 
boys  and  girls,  and  at  the  dose  of  school,  whether  it  be 
one  long  session  or  two  short  ones  with  noon  intermis- 
sion, the  pupils  are  taken  back  home.  In  Manitoba, 
private  schools,  business  colleges,  and  public  libraries 
are  numerous,  and  they  are  quite  as  well  equipped  as  are 
those  to  be  found  in  any  similar  communities.  Of  this 
province  specifically  I  purpose  writing  at  some  length 
in  a  later  chapter. 

Until  about  1900  the  settlements  in  Saskatchewan 
Province  were  practically  restricted  to  the  belt  varying 
from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles  in  width  along  the 
main  Hne  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  which  was 
built  through  this  region  in  1882.  As  the  land  grant 
gave  each  alternate  section  to  the  railway  —  the  width 
of  the  belt  varying  according  to  the  character  of  the 
country  and  the  ease  or  difficulty  of  construction  —  it 
was  necessary  to  survey  this  broad  belt  in  order  to 
determine  the  railway  sections.  For  this  reason  it 
came  to  pass  that  settlers  could  make  their  choice  of 
homesteads  definite  and  get  title  promptly,  as  could  not 
be  done  on  the  unsurveyed  lands.  Government  sur- 
veys subsequently  were  extended  into  other  districts 
and  at  present  about  one-third  of  the  province,  from  the 
International  Boundary  northward,  is  now  surveyed. 
In  the  southeastern  quarter  of  the  province  practically 
all  the  land  has  been  taken  up  either  by  homesteaders 
or  by  purchasers  of  railway  lands.  North  of  the  first 
section,  surveys  have  been  gradually  extended,  and  there 
are  now  thousands  of  homesteads  on  arable  land  avail- 


THE     LURE     OF     CANADA  175 

able  for  entry.  The  rapid  development  of  railways  — 
trunk  lines  or  feeders  —  has  invariably  preceded  the 
coming  in  of  settlers,  and  it  has  been  aptly  said  that 
settlement  invariably  proceeds  from  railway  lines  like 
the  unrolling  of  a  carpet.  Lumber  is  readily  procurable 
and  coal  is  mined  in  abundance  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  province.  It  is  claimed  that  Saskatchewan,  with  its 
broad  acres  of  prairie  in  the  south  and  its  prairies  with 
their  park-like  homesteads  in  the  central  portion,  has 
within  its  borders  the  greatest  wheat-producing  area  of 
the  Dominion.  Wheat  and  beef-cattle  are  exported. 
Horses  are  not  yet  so  numerous  as  to  leave  a  suqjlus 
after  the  home  demand  is  supplied;  because  a  team  is 
one  of  the  first  requirements  of  the  new  settler.  Other 
farm  products  are  required  for  local  consumption  and 
settlers  find  a  ready  market  for  anything  they  raise. 
Saskatchewan  has  an  area  of  250,650  square  miles, 
8,318  square  miles  being  water  surface,  for  the  northern 
half  abounds  in  lakes  and  rivers.  This  northern  section 
is  not  yet  very  well  known,  and  its  systematic  survey 
must  naturally  be  a  slow  process.  There  are  great 
forests  and  open  glades,  and  it  is  the  home  of  fur-bearing 
animals.  The  hunting  of  these  gives  sport  to  many,  as 
well  as  some  wealth  to  those  who  prefer  a  hunter's  Ufe. 
Alberta  Province  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the 
United  States;  its  eastern  boundary  is  the  i  loth  meridian 
of  longitude  west  from  Greenwich  (in  common  with 
Saskatchewan);  its  northern  boundary  is  the  60th 
parallel  of  latitude,  where  it  marches  with  the  North 
West  Territory;  and  its  western  boundary  is  the  crest 
of  the  main  range  of  the  Rocky  IMountains  from  the 


176  THE     COMING     CANADA 

International  Boundary  till  that  crest  intersects  the 
1 20th  meridian,  W.,  which  it  follows  to  the  60th  parallel. 
The  whole  of  the  western  boundary  marches  with 
British  Columbia.  This  province  is  naturally  con- 
sidered in  three  great  belts  or  districts,  southern,  central, 
and  northern.  The  first  two  are  of  interest  to  the  settler, 
the  southern  prairie  section  especially.  This  southern 
belt,  from  the  United  States  to  about  one  hundred  miles 
north  of  Calgary,  was  a  great  ranching  country.  For 
a  long  time  farming  could  not  be  considered  sufficiently 
safe  to  induce  agricultural  settlers  because  the  rainfall 
is  light.  But  since  great  irrigating  ditches  have  been 
constructed,  bringing  an  abundance  of  water  from  the 
mountain  streams,  farming  has  increased  amazingly. 
The  soil,  when  irrigated,  yields  splendid  crops  of  grains 
and  vegetables  of  all  kinds.  The  central  belt  is  particu- 
larly attractive  to  settlers  who  contemplate  mixed  or 
general  farming.  Northern  Alberta  is  undoubtedly  a 
land  of  great  possibilities.  Each  year  is  bringing  evi- 
dence that  agriculture  and  stock  raising  can  be  success- 
fully carried  on,  probably  all  the  way  to  the  northern 
boundary.  The  area  of  Alberta  is  253,540  square  miles. 
These  three  provinces  constitute  the  section  to  which 
the  Dominion  Government  is  directing  its  special  atten- 
tion and  making  every  efTort  to  attract  settlers.  Experi- 
mental farms  are  estabhshed  at  numerous  points,  and 
every  information  that  they  are  able  to  impart  is  at 
the  service  of  settlers,  without  fee.  Somewhat  similar 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  Central  Government  is  being 
made  to  show  settlers  that  British  Columbia  possesses 
for  them  great  opportunities. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
DEVELOPMENT  OF  RAILWAYS 

NO  new  country  ever  felt  more  promptly  the  urgent 
necessity  for  railway  facilities  than  Canada  did 
after  that  modern  method  of  transportation  became 
available  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  As  soon  as 
the  development  of  the  wonderful  resources  in  forests, 
mines,  agricultural  lands,  and  other  productive  indus- 
tries had  passed  beyond  the  narrow  strips  which  border 
the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  fringe  the  easternmost  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  became  known,  this  necessity  asserted 
itself  with  an  insistence  which  could  not  be  disregarded. 

Although  Canada  is  possessed  of  a  wonderful  system 
of  internal  waterways,  rivers  and  lakes  —  and  these 
natural  reservoirs  in  Canada  are  estimated  to  represent 
fully  one-half  of  all  the  fresh  water  in  the  world  —  yet 
these  same  promptly  proved  to  be  inadequate  for  the 
traffic  which  immediately  developed  upon  the  opening 
up  of  the  wonderful  western  section  of  the  Dominion. 
Besides,  although  the  rivers  may  be  broad  and  deep  and 
while  the  lakes  seem  to  afford  ample  transportation 
faciUties,  yet  these  waterways  are  rendered  unavailable 
for  several  months  because  of  ice,  and  that,  too,  just  at 
the  time  when  much  of  the  grain  crop  is  seeking  an 
outlet  to  deep  water. 

The  Canadian  captains  of  industry  promptly  realised 


178  THE     COMING     CANADA 

that  this  new  method  of  transportation  —  the  steam 
railway — was  to  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  them,  and 
as  early  as  1835  a  charter  for  a  short  line  was  granted; 
while  during  the  succeeding  decade  a  good  many  other 
short  lines  were  so  seriously  considered  that  their  possi- 
ble promoters  asked  for  legislative  permission  to  build. 
But  the  economic  conditions  were  unsettled  and  the 
rebellion  of  1837,  which  has  already  been  mentioned, 
had  a  deterrent  effect,  so  that  in  1850  there  were  but 
fifty-five  miles  of  railway  in  all  Canada,  while  now  there 
are  over  thirty  thousand  miles  and  the  annual  increase 
in  trackage  is  measured  by  the  thousand  miles  or  more. 
In  1850,  when  railway  construction  really  began 
seriously,  it  was  the  Northern  Railway,  connecting 
Lakes  Huron  and  Ontario,  that  was  first  built.  In 
1852  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  was  incorporated  — 
under  British  charter  —  and  the  Hon.  Sir  Francis  Hincks, 
then  Prime  Minister  and  Inspector-General  of  Canada 
(as  the  Minister  of  Finance  was  then  called),  that  same 
year  went  to  England  to  urge  the  granting  of  a  guarantee 
to  the  Intercolonial  Railway.  He  made  arrangements 
with  the  Peto,  Brassey,  Betts,  and  Jackson  Company, 
contractors  and  builders,  which  eventually  brought 
about  the  construction  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway, 
1,100  miles  of  single-track  line,  with  necessary  sidings, 
and  the  Victoria  Bridge  over  the  St.  Lawrence  at  Mon- 
treal. The  railway  itself  was  completed  and  opened 
for  traffic  in  1855;  the  Victoria  Bridge  was  used  for  the 
first  time  in  i860,  when  it  was  described  by  the  Ameri- 
can Consul  at  Montreal  as  ''the  greatest  work  of  the 
age."    The  actual  task,  both  as  to  building  the  railway 


DEVELOPMENT     OF     RAILWAYS      1 79 

and  throwing  the  bridge  across  the  river,  is  a  monument 
to  the  skill  and  energy  of  Thomas  Brassey,  who  planned 
and  directed  the  entire  enterprise,  which  was  super- 
intended by  Robert  Stephenson. 

A  most  appaUing  commentary  upon  the  construction 
methods  of  that  time  is  found  in  a  comparison  of  the 
cost  of  that  Grand  Trunk  bridge  and  another,  only  a 
few  miles  farther  up  stream,  which  was  built  long  after 
for  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  Both  serve  precisely 
the  same  purpose  and  one  does  not  seem  to  be  any  better 
than  the  other;  yet  the  Grand  Trunk's  cost  $6,300,000, 
while  the  Canadian  Pacific's  was  built  for  less  than 
$1,000,000.  Those  first  Canadian  railways  were  built 
by  British  engineers  who  brought  into  the  new  world 
precisely  the  same  methods  as  they  and  their  fellow 
craftsmen  had  followed  in  laying  railways  between  the 
populous  cities  of  Great  Britain.  Those  engineers  were 
without  an  inkhng  of  what  were  the  needs  of  the  sparsely 
populated  regions  of  the  New  World,  where  it  was  far 
more  important  to  be  able  to  haul  freight  cheaply  than 
it  was  to  carry  passengers  quickly  and  comfortably. 
Those  British  constructors  built  their  Hnes  permanently, 
but  it  was  done  at  an  expense  which  prevented  the 
shareholders  seeing  any  return  for  their  investment  in 
the  way  of  dividends  for  many  years. 

While  the  Grand  Trunk  was  under  construction,  the 
main  line  of  the  Great  Western  Railway  was  opened  for 
traffic,  January,  1854,  and  that  company  continued  to 
build  until  it  had  360  miles  of  track.  These  larger 
enterprises  and  a  number  of  smaller  ones  brought  up 
the   total   railway   mileage   to   about   2,500  when   the 


l8o  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Dominion  of  Canada  was  created  in  1867.  Other  short 
lines,  here  and  there,  were  built  with  local  capital  helped 
out  by  British  funds;  but  I  fancy  that  practically  all 
the  railways  in  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  that  were 
opened  before  the  consolidation  of  the  Dominion  are 
now  to  be  found  in  the  Grand  Trunk  system. 

As  soon  as  the  Dominion  was  an  accomplished  fact, 
it  became  advisable,  if  not  absolutely  essential,  that  the 
maritime  provinces  should  no  longer  be  cut  off  from 
the  rest  of  Canada,  even  if  the  linking  up  necessitated  the 
building  of  a  railway  through  what  was  then  a  trackless 
wilderness.  There  was  danger  that  those  outlying 
units  of  the  Dominion,  unless  tied  firmly  by  bands  of 
iron  to  the  larger  provinces,  might  be  compelled  through 
force  of  circumstances  to  ally  themselves  with  the 
United  States.  The  Trent  affair  of  1861;  the  numerous 
episodes  connected  with  the  Confederate  privateers,  and 
other  unpleasant  matters,  threatened  to  bring  about 
hostilities  between  Americans  and  Britons.  If  that  had 
occurred,  undoubtedly  the  scene  of  the  land  battles 
would  have  been  laid  in  Canada,  and  almost  certainly 
the  already  semi-detached  maritime  provinces  would 
have  been  cut  off  from  the  Dominion. 

The  Imperial  British  Government,  when  all  these 
dangers  had  been  demonstrated  and  conditions  clearly 
explained,  granted  a  loan  of  the  three  million  pounds 
sterling  needed  to  build  the  Intercolonial  Railway,  from 
the  St.  Lawrence  River,  at  Montreal,  to  Halifax,  Nova 
Scotia,  with  branches  to  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  and 
North  Sydney,  Cape  Breton  Island,  as  well  as  the  Prince 
Edward  Island  Railway.     It  was  stipulated  that  the 


DEVELOPMENT     OF     RAILWAYS      l8l 

line  should  follow  a  strategic  route.  It  must  be  laid 
sufficiently  far  from  the  International  Boundary  to 
ensure  reasonable  freedom  from  a  sudden  raid  by  Ameri- 
cans in  case  hostilities  broke  out. 

As  a  financial  investment  this  railway  has  not  yet 
been  remunerative,  and  as  a  commercial  or  industrial 
enterprise  it  is  only  of  recent  years  that  it  has  promised 
to  be  successful.  Undoubtedly  both  imperial  and 
federal  poHtics  affected  it  adversely;  yet  it  must  be 
remembered  that  it  was  built  for  a  specific  purpose  which 
has  -been  achieved,  and  it  gave  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment at  Ottawa  access  to  seaports  which  are  open  all 
the  year  round,  and  that,  too,  across  its  own  territory. 

The  two  chief  problems  which  faced  the  Dominion 
Cabinets  for  the  first  twenty  years  of  their  official  exist- 
ence, were  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  and  the  Tariff. 
This  combination  emphasised  a  very  curious  state  of 
affairs  both  pohtically  and  economically.  The  advo- 
cates of  the  railway  (which  was  to  be  built,  it  will  be 
remembered,  in  fulfilment  of  a  promise  to  British 
Columbia)  were  supposed  to  be  Conservatives  and 
Protectionists;  and  they  were  under  the  leadership  of 
Sir  John  Macdonald,  Prime  Minister  1857-58,  1868-73, 
and  1878-91.  Yet  they  were  contending  for  a  most 
progressive  matter  and  to  accomplish  their  purpose  they 
were  willing  to  open  the  gates  sufficiently  to  let  in  from 
the  United  States  material  and  suppHes  for  the  railway 
free  of  duty.  The  Liberals,  who  were  cautiously  opposed 
to  any  hasty  action  as  regards  the  transcontinental  rail- 
way, were  then  Free  Traders. 

To  anticipate  a  little,  because  of  direct  bearing  upon 


l82  THE     COMING     CANADA 

the  subject  now  under  consideration,  I  quote  from  a 
manifesto  which  Sir  John  addressed  to  the  Electors  of 
Canada,  February  7,  1891,  when  there  seemed  to  be 
danger  of  his  political  discomfiture,  but  not  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  6th  of  the  following  June.  After 
touching  upon  the  prosperity  which  followed  the  inaugu- 
ration of  Protection,  or  the  National  Policy  as  the  Con- 
servatives called  it,  as  against  the  United  States,  and 
the  Government's  abiHty  to  carry  out  the  promise  to 
British  Columbia,  he  said:  *'To  that  end  we  undertook 
the  stupendous  work,  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway, 
undeterred  by  the  pessimistic  views  of  our  opponents; 
nay,  in  spite  of  strenuous  and  even  indignant  opposition, 
we  pushed  forward  that  great  enterprise  through  the 
wilderness  north  of  Lake  Superior,  across  the  western 
prairies,  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  shores  of 
the  Pacific,  with  such  inflexible  resolution  that  in  seven 
years  after  the  assumption  of  ofifice  by  the  present 
Administration  the  dream  of  our  public  men  was  an 
accomplished  fact,  and  I  myself  experienced  the  proud 
satisfaction  of  looking  back  from  the  steps  of  my  car 
upon  the  Rocky  Mountains  framing  the  eastern  sky. 
The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  now  extends  from  ocean 
to  ocean,  opening  up  and  developing  the  country  at  a 
marvellous  rate,  and  forming  an  Imperial  highway  to 
the  East  over  which  the  trade  of  the  Indies  is  destined 
to  reach  the  markets  of  Europe." 

In  1870,  the  great  North  West  Territories  were  dis- 
posed of  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  as  has  been 
stated,  and  the  extreme  southeastern  portion  thereof 
came  into  the  Dominion  as  the  Province  of  Manitoba. 


DEVELOPMENT     OF     RAILWAYS      183 

A  year  later  British  Columbia,  which  had  long  been  a 
province  with  an  organised  government,  although  very 
sparsely  settled  by  white  men  at  least,  agreed  to  listen 
to  Dominion  overtures,  provided  an  assurance  was  given 
that  a  railway  should  be  speedily  built  to  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  promise  was  given  and  British  Columbia 
was  admitted;  but  the  delay  which  politics  and  various 
other  causes  made  inevitable,  so  disgusted  the  people  of 
the  Pacific  province  that  they  threatened  to  secede  from 
the  Dominion  because  of  broken  promises. 

No  thought  seems  to  have  been  given  by  the  British 
Columbians  to  what  seemed  at  the  time,  to  all  but  the 
most  enthusiastic,  a  mad  undertaking.  It  meant  700 
miles  through  the  rocky,  uninhabited  wilderness  which 
lay  between  Montreal  and  Winnipeg  and  where  — as 
has  already  been  told  —  the  engineering  difficulties  were 
colossal  and  the  construction  frightfully  expensive. 
After  that  came  800  miles  across  prairies  where,  at  the 
time,  there  were  practically  no  settlements  and  nothing 
upon  which  the  railway  administration  could  depend 
for  patronage;  and  then  were  the  hundreds  of  miles 
through  the  Rockies,  the  Selkirks,  and  other  mountain 
ranges  almost  to  the  water's  edge  on  the  Pacific.  For 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  railway  had  to  be 
built  far  enough  from  the  International  Boundary  to 
give  it  protection  as  a  mihtary  and  strategic  line. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  became  the  chief  topic 
of  conversation  throughout  Eastern  Canada,  and  it 
would  be  untrue  to  say  that  the  discussion  did  not 
bring  out  some  poUtical  scandals;  but  they  belong  in 
past  history  and  are  not  pertinent  to  the  Coming  Canada. 


184  THE     COMING     CANADA 

On  October  21,  1880,  a  contract  was  signed  for  the 
construction  of  this  railway,  but  it  was  not  practicable 
to  begin  active  work  for  several  months.  On  the  2nd 
of  May,  1881,  the  first  sod  was  turned  and  on  the  7th  of 
November,  1885,  the  last  spike  was  driven  in  what  was 
then,  and  which  is  even  now,  the  only  absolutely  trans- 
continental railway  in  America,  north  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Tehuantepec.  On  the  13th  of  January,  1886,  the 
first  through  train  left  Montreal  for  Port  Moody,  which 
place  was,  for  a  short  time,  the  western  terminus;  the 
line  was  soon  extended  to  Vancouver. 

As  we  look  back  upon  the  history  of  that  remarkable 
enterprise,  we  cannot  but  be  much  impressed  by  the 
unwavering  faith  of  the  men  who  gave  their  fortunes 
to  build  the  line  and  their  unstinted  labour  to  carry  their 
plans  to  success.  Sir  John  Macdonald,  who  had  been 
the  prime  mover  in  bringing  about  Federation,  that  is 
the  Dominion  of  Canada,  was  also  a  champion  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  With  him  were  associated 
two  men  who  were  afterwards  raised  to  the  British 
peerage  as  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal  and  Lord 
Mountstephen;  these  three  were  the  Hfe  and  soul  of  the 
enterprise.  Sir  John  lived  just  long  enough  to  see  the 
work  completed,  for  he  died  in  1891.  Strathcona  and 
Mountstephen  have  not  only  seen  their  pet  prosper  and 
pay  good  dividends,  for  the  shares  were  raised  to  a  ten 
per  cent,  dividend  basis  in  January,  191 1 ;  but  they  have 
realised,  long  ago,  that  the  development  of  the  Domin- 
ion, certainly  stimulated  by  the  Canadian  Pacific,  has 
gone  beyond  the  capacity  of  one  transcontinental  rail- 
way system  to  supply  its  needs. 


DEVELOPMENT    OF     RAILWAYS       185 

This  corporation  has  many  advantages.  Its  capitali- 
sation is  less,  in  proportion  to  the  physical  valuation  of 
its  properties,  than  that  of  any  other  well-known  rail- 
way and  steamship  system  in  the  world.  It  has  been 
fortunate  (but  in  this  it  is  not  remarkable  as  regards  all 
the  great  railway  systems  of  Canada)  from  the  very 
beginning  in  having  men  to  control  its  interests  who 
were  and  are  conspicuous  for  energy,  integrity  and 
ability.  It  is  true  that  the  breath  of  slander  has  not 
absolutely  spared  the  promoters  of  this  great  enterprise; 
but  time  showed  that  the  allegations  had  no  substantial 
foundation  in  fact,  and  the  future  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
is  very  bright.  It  is  prosperous  now  and  will  doubtless 
continue  to  be  so  as  the  Coming  Canada  advances  along 
the  pathway  which  is  manifestly  marked  out  for  it. 
For  the  fiscal  year  ended  June  30,  191 2,  the  gross 
earnings  were  $123,319,541.23;  the  working  expenses, 
$80,021,298.40. 

The  Grand  Trunk  Railway  was,  in  the  early  sixties 
of  the  last  century  and  for  many  years,  satisfied  to  limit 
its  expansion  to  the  older  regions  of  Quebec,  Ontario, 
the  Maritime  Provinces,  and  to  connections  with  Ameri- 
can Knes.  It  was  not  very  long,  however,  until  the 
promise  of  remuneration  induced  the  directors  to  extend 
their  system  westward  in  Canada  itself.  Beyond 
Toronto,  the  lines  of  this  corporation  come  under  the 
management  of  a  semi-independent  board,  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific.  Its  lines,  with  those  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  and  the  Canadian  Northern,  form  a  network 
with  a  mesh  so  fine  as  to  cause  amazement  when  one 
remembers  that  the  pioneer  railway  Une  in  this  region 


l86  THE     COMING     CANADA 

was  opened  for  traffic  only  in  1886.  The  whole  district 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  south  of  the  advanced 
line  of  settlements  is  already  well  supplied  with  rail- 
way facilities.  The  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  will  cross  the 
Rockies  through  the  Yellow  Head  Pass,  200  miles  north 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  at  a  much  less  altitude 
than  that  to  which  the  latter  climbs.  Once  through  the 
mountains,  the  Grand  Trunk  bears  northwestward 
through  the  centre  of  British  Columbia  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean  at  Prince  Rupert,  400  miles  north  of  Vancouver; 
but,  due  to  the  influence  of  the  Pacific  currents,  not 
likely  to  be  inconvenienced  by  ice  more  than  is  Van- 
couver. 

At  present  this  region  is  truly  a  rugged  wilderness, 
where  there  are  plenty  of  bears,  mountain  sheep,  moose, 
wapiti,  and  other  big  game  to  attract  the  sportsman. 
Within  the  sphere  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific's  influence, 
the  mountains  are  not  quite  so  high  as  are  the  loftiest 
peaks  of  the  Swiss  Alps.  In  the  extreme  northwestern 
part  of  this  province,  British  Columbia,  there  are  moun- 
tains rising  to  19,000  feet,  and  that  section  is  one  where 
the  desolation  and  absence  of  human  Hfe  strike  the  occa- 
sional lone  visitor  most  impressively.  If  history  repeats 
itself,  it  will  be  but  a  few  years  before  even  that  desola- 
tion will  have  been  succeeded  by  a  measure  of  human 
life  and  activities  which  shall  transform  it  completely. 

The  Grand  Trunk  receipts  for  i860,  the  first  year 
after  the  completion  of  the  line  as  originally  contemplated 
were  £682,658,  say  $3,304,164.  For  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1912,  the  gross  receipts  were  $3^834,- 
328.19  and  the  working  expenses  $2,793,285.19. 


DEVELOPMENT     OF     RAILWAYS      187 

The  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  is  treated  under  two  great 
divisions,  eastern  and  western.  The  former,  Moncton, 
N.  B.,  to  Winnipeg,  1800  miles;  the  second,  Winnipeg 
to  Prince  Rupert,  1756  miles.  The  main  Hne  of  the 
eastern  division  is  being  built  by  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment and  will  be  leased  to  the  company  for  fifty  years; 
all  branch  lines  of  this  division  are  to  be  constructed  by 
the  lessees.  The  western  division  is  being  built  by  the 
company,  the  Dominion  government  guaranteeing  first 
mortgage  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $13,000  per  mile  in 
the  prairie  section  and  for  three-quarters  of  the  actual 
cost  in  the  mountain  section;  that  is,  from  the  eastern 
foot  of  the  Rockies  through  to  Prince  Rupert.  Inas- 
much as  this  company  is  still  being  operated  under  con- 
struction account,  there  are,  of  course,  no  statistics  of 
gross  receipts  and  expenses  to  give. 

There  is  but  one  other  railway  system  in  the  Domin- 
ion to  which  attention  need  be  given  here.  That  is 
the  Canadian  Northern,  for  I  look  upon  the  Inter- 
colonial as  a  government  enterprise  whose  fate  is  not 
directly  dependent  upon  public  patronage.  The  Cana- 
dian Northern,  which  is  to-day  a  great  railway  in  a 
great  country,  had  a  very  humble  beginning.  In  1889 
the  Dominion  Parliament  granted  a  charter  for  the 
construction  of  ''The  Lake  Manitoba  Railway  and 
Canal  Company."  As  the  original  grantees  had  been 
unable  to  do  anything  with  their  charter,  its  rights  and 
privileges  were  transferred  to  a  small  company  of 
optimists,  and  from  that  small  beginning  has  grown  what 
is  to-day,  in  mileage  and  scope,  the  fourth  (if  we  separate 
the  Grand  Trunk  and  the  G.  T.  Pacific)  railway  system 


l88  THE     COMING     CANADA 

of  the  Dominion.  It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  the 
details  of  an  interesting  narrative  which  tells  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  this  company,  since  they  are  matters  of 
the  past  and  we  are  concerned  with  the  present  and  the 
future.  In  1897  the  first  link  of  the  Canadian  Northern's 
chain  was  forged.  It  was  a  little  line  from  Gladstone 
to  Dauphin,  85  miles,  in  Manitoba  Province;  and  this 
little  was  accompKshed  only  with  the  greatest  difhculty. 
Had  not  the  provincial  legislature  guaranteed  the  bonds, 
it  is  certain  they  would  not  have  been  sold  in  London, 
and  it  was  impossible  to  float  them  in  Canada  or  the 
United  States.  In  1901,  the  first  year  of  this  20th 
century,  and  only  four  years  after  that  modest  begin- 
ning, the  Canadian  Northern  had  1200  miles  of  line  in 
operation.  On  the  30th  of  June,  191 2,  it  owned  and 
operated,  including  leased  lines,  4316  miles. 

As  the  name  impHes,  it  is  to  the  purpose  mainly  of 
developing  the  prairie  and  northern  regions  of  the 
Dominion  that  this  corporation  is  directing  its  energies, 
and  a  glance  at  the  map  shows  how  much  has  already 
been  done;  although  the  scope  has  spread  into  the 
provinces  of  Ontario,  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  and 
Alberta,  the  territory  of  Keewatin,  and  the  State  of 
Minnesota,  Lake  Superior  is  joined  to  Hudson  Bay  (or 
will  be  in  a  short  time),  and  the  three  central  provinces 
of  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta  are  served 
from  east  to  west  and  far  towards  the  north.  This 
last  fact  has  contradicted  absolutely  the  contention 
that  a  railway  which  is  virtually  restricted  to  the  prairies 
cannot  be  considered  a  profitable  investment. 

But  a  few  years  ago,  the  Vice-President  of  tliis  com- 


DEVELOPMENT     OF     RAILWAYS      189 

pany  made  public  some  statements  which  showed  that 
the  Canadian  Northern's  earning  power  had  steadily- 
increased  with  expansion  in  just  that  discredited  region. 
Some  2500  miles  of  lines  west  of  the  Great  Lakes  and 
Lake  Winnipeg  had  been  guaranteed  by  either  the 
Dominion  or  Provincial  governments;  but,  he  declared 
—  and  his  declaration  seems  to  have  been  verified  by 
facts  —  *'no  one  of  those  Governments  had,  or  ever 
would  have,  to  pay  a  dollar  on  account  of  those  arrange- 
ments.'^ 

The  confidence  of  Canadians  in  the  management  of 
the  various  railways  which  have  been  built,  in  the 
prairie  and  mountain  sections  especially,  is  admirably 
illustrated  by  the  experience  of  the  Canadian  Northern: 
in  1909  the  Central  and  Provincial  governments  united 
in  granting  two  million  acres  of  land,  the  proceeds  of 
which  were  to  be  used  in  constructing  a  railway  between 
Sudbury  and  Port  Arthur.  In  the  same  year  the  Prov- 
ince of  Saskatchewan  gave  a  guarantee  of  $13,000  a  mile 
for  the  construction  of  11 75  miles  of  main  line  and 
feeders,  the  work  to  be  finished  in  three  years.  Alberta 
Province  gave  a  similar  guarantee  for  920  miles  of  the 
same  sort.  Manitoba  guaranteed  $30,000  per  mile 
for  210  miles,  the  work  being  considerably  more  difficult 
and  expensive.  This  guaranteed  work  has  all  been 
completed  and  a  good  deal  besides. 

In  British  Columbia,  the  Dominion  government  has 
agreed  to  guarantee  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $21,000,000 
for  600  miles  of  line  from  the  crest  of  the  Rockies,  in 
Yellow  Head  Pass,  by  way  of  Vancouver  (ferry  to 
Victoria)  to  Nanaimo  on  the  western  shore  of  Vancouver 


IQO  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Island.  With  this  work  carried  out  and  the  Nova 
Scotia  lines  connected  with  the  main  system  at  Quebec, 
a  third  ocean  to  ocean  railway  will  be  opened  in  Canada. 

The  Canadian  Northern  owns  two  or  three  large 
steamers  which  are  running  regularly  between  Bristol, 
England,  and  Halifax  and  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia. 
The  management  has  declared  that  just  as  soon  as  this 
company  is  prepared  to  give  railway  service  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  it  will  launch  first-class  steamships,  equal 
—  all  things  being  considered  —  to  anything  afloat  on 
either  the  Atlantic  or  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Although 
simply  astonishing,  yet  the  following  figures  have  been 
audited  by  the  Dominion  government  and  may  be 
depended  upon  implicitly:  on  June  30,  191 2,  the 
Canadian  Northern's  gross  earnings  for  the  preceding 
year  were  $20,860,093.63;  the  operating  expenses 
$14,979,048.52.  In  1897  the  Gladstone-Dauphin  line, 
the  nucleus  of  the  company,  earned  $60,000. 

Of  the  two  hundred  odd  railway  companies  which 
have  received  charters,  more  than  one-half  have  been 
amalgamated  with  one  or  another  of  the  great  systems, 
the  Grand  Trunk,  the  Intercolonial,  the  Canadian  Pacific, 
the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  the  Canadian  Northern. 
There  seeems  to  be  no  objection  to  one  company  acquir- 
ing competing  fines;  but  this  apparent  disposition  to 
facifitate  the  monopoly  of  great  railway  systems  is  not 
likely  to  bring  disaster,  for  the  Dominion  and  Provincial 
legislatures  are  so  constantly  on  the  watch  and  are 
armed  with  such  disciplinary  power  —  backed  by  means 
to  enforce  mandates  —  that  conditions  can  hardly 
become  subversive  of  pubHc  rights. 


DEVELOPMENT     OF     RAILWAYS      I9I 

In  closing  this  chapter,  I  refer  to  an  article  in  the 
Toronto  News  for  March  31,  191 1,  giving  the  following 
reasons  for  the  advance  in  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
Company's  shares,  and  other  things  being  equal,  a 
similar  advance  in  Canadian  railways  generally.  First, 
the  company  has  advanced  its  dividend  rate  from  seven 
to  ten  per  cent.  Second,  the  company's  possessions  in 
lands  and  other  property  are  enormously  valuable. 
Third,  the  company  is  undisturbed  by  the  pursuit  of 
American  courts  and  legislatures  to  which  United  States 
railways  are  subjected.  Fourth,  these  conditions  have 
led  to  a  gradual  transfer  of  investors'  money  from  United 
States  railways  to  Canadian  Pacific. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  GREAT  ST.  LAWRENCE  BASIN 

IT  is  no  doubt  correct  to  say  that  the  St.  Lawrence 
begins  at  Kingston  where  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario 
draw  in  and  a  broad  river  is  born;  but  there  are  many 
miles  to  be  travelled  westward  before  we  come  to  the 
little  lakes,  Bear's  Head,  whence  issues  Embarrassment 
River,  and  Beaver  Lake,  the  apparent  source  of  the 
Saint  Louis  River,  in  the  State  of  Minnesota:  these 
are  the  actual  beginnings  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin. 
In  that  section  of  Minnesota,  it  is  evidently  a  difhcult 
matter  for  a  drop  of  rain  water  to  determine  whether 
it  will  go  east  or  north.  Separated  by  a  ridge  so  low  as 
scarcely  to  be  perceptible,  are  streams  which  flow  in 
exactly  opposite  directions:  on  the  east  they  run  south 
until  they  bend  and  mingle  with  others  making  their 
way  into  Lake  Superior:  on  the  west  and  but  a  few  rods 
away,  they  take  a  northerly  course,  reach  Vermilion 
Lake  and  thereafter  are  a  part  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Basin. 
It  is  there  we  should  look  for  the  beginning  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  Basin  and  its  end  in  Labrador,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  Gaspe  Peninsula 
on  the  south. 

If  we  were  to  measure  from  the  entrance  to  the  Straits 
of  Belle  Isle,  which  separate  Newfoundland  from  Lab- 
rador, and  take  the  middle  of  the  true  St.  Lawrence 


GREAT     ST.     LAWRENCE     BASIN      193 

River,  then  follow  the  middle  of  Lakes  Ontario,  Erie, 
Huron,  and  Superior,  up  the  httle  St.  Louis  River  to 
its  very  source,  we  should  have  an  approximate  length 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin  of  something  like  three  thou- 
sand miles.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  so  precise  as 
that. 

Within  the  great  St.  Lawrence  Basin,  taking  the  phrase 
in  this  most  liberal  sense,  there  are  physical  variations 
so  numerous  as  to  be  indescribable.  At  its  remotest 
beginning  this  great  basin  is  in  a  region  which  geologists 
describe  as  having  sunk  so  rapidly  from  its  former 
elevation  that  the  animals  had  to  skurry  away  to  higher 
lands  to  save  themselves  from  being  caught  in  swamps 
and  tamarack  bogs.  Of  course  this  is  a  bit  of  extrava- 
gance, yet  it  is  geologically  certain  that  not  very  long 
ago  Minnesota  was  higher  than  it  now  is;  and  it  is  true 
also  that  only  in  the  northern  section  have  the  rocks 
been  hard  enough  and  sufficiently  high  to  resist  the 
rubbing  away  which  has  converted  so  much  of  the  rest 
of  the  state  into  the  level  that  is  generally  conspicuous. 
The  forests  of  Minnesota  must  have  been  grand  at  one 
time,  or  until  the  state  dropped  from  being  the  third 
in  output  of  lumber  to  fifth.  The  subsiding  and  wear- 
ing away  which  have  just  been  mentioned  were  not  so 
absolute  as  might  be  inferred,  because  Minnesota's 
position  as  a  contributor  to  the  iron  ore  supply  of  North 
America  is  a  most  important  one,  and  this  fact  gives  to 
the  very  beginning  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin  a  place  in 
the  economics  of  Canada  as  well  as  the  United  States. 

I  must,  for  several  reasons,  keep  myself  to  the  Canadian 
side  of  the  great  Basin.    When  the  Httle  St.  Louis  River 


194  THE     COMING     CANADA 

has  emptied  itself  into  Lake  Superior  near  Duluth,  we 
pass  along  the  northern  shore  of  the  lake  and  having 
left  the  United  States,  we  presently  come  to  two  towns, 
Fort  WiUiam  and  Port  Arthur,  which  are  the  termini 
of  several  railways,  and  they  are,  from  the  beginning 
of  harvest  until  the  frost  has  closed  navigation  on  the 
lakes,  among  the  greatest  grain  shipping  ports  in  the 
world.  Back  of  them,  or  near  them,  are  famous  lakes, 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  Nipigon,  and  from  the  former 
there  is  a  chain  of  waterways  which  make  the  line  that 
separates  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Hudson  Bay  basins  very 
faint  indeed. 

But  soon  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior  takes  on 
a  vastly  different  appearance  as  we  come  to  the  stern, 
dark,  forbidding  Laurentian  rocks,  through  which  the 
railway  lines  have  been  bored  with  infinite  trouble  and 
enormous  expense:  as  the  trains  pass  along  this  section 
the  reverberation  is  deafening.  When  the  Laurentians 
are  passed  and  the  eastern  part  of  Ontario  Province  is 
reached,  again  it  is  apparent  that  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Hudson  Bay  basins  is 
not  at  all  sharply  drawn.  There  are  several  streams 
which  may  be  ascended  in  canoes  almost  to  their  head- 
waters; and  when  such  navigation  becomes  no  longer 
possible,  there  is  but  a  short  portage  to  some  other 
stream  which  carries  the  canoe  down  —  although  north- 
ward —  to  James  Bay. 

In  the  province  of  Quebec  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin 
widens  at  first  very  much,  and  the  land  is  generally 
level,  although  not  prairie-like  in  its  smoothness.  Now, 
the  basin  includes  both  shores  of  the  river  which  has 


Portage  La  Loche,  Peace  River  Country,  Atiiabaska 


Potato  Chop,  Lake  La  Loche,  56°  30'  N. 


GREAT     ST.     LAWRENCE     BASIN      195 

grown  to  be  a  mighty  stream;  for  at  Montreal  begins 
the  navigation  which  permits  large  ocean-going  steamers 
to  make  use  of  it.  I  suppose  we  must  conform  to 
general  usage  and  say  that  when  we  have  reached  Gaspe 
Peninsula,  or  certainly  Anticosti  Island,  we  have  come 
to  the  eastern  end  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin;  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  all  the  north  shore  of  the  gulf  should  be 
included  in  it. 

From  the  beginning  of  French  occupation  until  some 
time  after  the  transfer  to  Great  Britain,  the  civilisation 
of  Canada  kept  so  closely  to  the  basin  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, in  its  restricted  sense,  that  back  of  a  fringe  of 
widely  separated  settlements  right  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  up  as  far  as  Montreal,  there  was  no  European 
population  at  all.  Conditions  during  this  long  period 
have  aptly  been  likened  to  the  civihsation  of  the  Nile 
valley  by  the  Egyptians  from  prehistoric  times  even  to 
the  present  day;  and  it  was  truly  on  the  St.  Lawrence 
banks  that  the  life  of  the  infant  Canada  beat. 

I  shall  mention  here  an  anomalous  state  of  affairs 
which  existed  for  a  while  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin 
because  of  the  provisions  of  what  was  known  as  Lord 
Stanley's  Act  of  1843.  Canadian  wheat  and  flour  were 
admitted  into  British  ports  at  a  nominal  duty.  ''This 
made  it  profitable  for  Canadians  to  import  from  the 
United  States  grain  which  was  then  ground  into  flour 
in  Canada  and  shipped  to  the  Enghsh  market.  For  this 
trade  large  mills  and  storehouses  had  been  built  in 
Canada,  and  a  very  considerable  trade  had  grown  up. 
It  was  an  advantage  also  to  the  provinces,  since  western 
produce  gravitated  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  with  a  corre- 


196  THE     COMING     CANADA 

spending  increase  in  canal  dues."  *  But  in  1846  the 
British  Parliament  passed  the  Imperial  Free  Trade  Act, 
and  immediately  all  those  artificial  advantages  were 
cut  away;  many  commercial  men  were  ruined;  the 
capital  invested  in  mills,  etc.,  was  threatened,  and  the 
merchandise  reverted  to  its  natural  channels.  This  is 
but  one  instance  of  the  vicissitudes  of  commerce  in  the 
St.  Lawrence  Basin. 

The  scenery  of  this  great  region  is  of  a  character 
which  tends  to  increase  the  scepticism  of  the  reader 
directly  as  the  description  is  accurate.  Going  back 
again  to  the  western  end  of  Lake  Superior,  the  coast 
line  along  the  northern  shore  is  generally  of  the  boldest 
character.  A  most  striking  object  is  the  Great  Palisade. 
This  is  thought  by  many  to  have  been,  probably,  a  huge 
detached  rock  standing  alone,  when  the  waters  of  the 
lake  stood  at  a  higher  level  than  they  now  have.  It  is 
from  nine  hundred  to  a  thousand  feet  high,  and  the  top 
is  covered  with  trees. 

As  the  traveller  by  steamer  passes  on  towards  the  east, 
the  beauty  and  wonderful  features  of  the  shore  continue 
to  grow  until  it  becomes  difficult  for  the  eyes  to  take  in 
all  that  is  presented.  The  face  of  the  shattered  cliffs 
is  often  dressed  with  trees  which  cHng  in  the  most  sur- 
prising way;  frequently  these  grow  right  down  to  the 
water.  Sometimes  the  precipice  is  rent  from  top  to 
bottom  and  a  deep,  narrow  gorge  is  formed.  As  the 
steamer  slips  past  one  of  these  ravines,  the  visitor  gets 
a  glimpse  of  a  foaming  torrent  plunging  down  to  the 
lake.  The  largest  of  these  streams  is  called  Beaver 
*  W.  L.  Griffith,  The  Dominion  oj  Canada,  igii. 


GREAT     ST.     LAWRENCE     BASIN      197 

River,  Lake  county,  Minn.,  and  at  its  mouth  is  Beaver 
Bay,  one  of  the  very  few  harbours  on  the  north  shore. 

At  the  entrance  to  Thunder  Bay,  on  which  are  the 
towns  of  Port  Arthur  and  Fort  William,  stands  Thunder 
Cape  (sometijnes  called  "Thunder  Head"),  which  rises 
sheer  to  a  height  of  very  nearly  1400  feet  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  lake,  and  the  water  at  its  foot  is  probably 
deeper  than  in  any  other  part.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
the  Indians  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  Thunder  Cape. 
They  gave  it  a  wide  berth,  for  the  wind  plays  mad  tricks 
about  it,  and  the  dashing  of  a  frail  canoe  against  that 
grim  basaltic  precipice  meant  certain  death  to  all  on 
board. 

On  still  farther  east  comes  the  river  to  which  the 
Canadians  give  the  name  of  Nipigon,  as  well  as  to  the 
lake  from  which  it  flows;  but  some  who  Uke  to  be  very 
precise  in  their  terminology  and  who,  not  improperly 
it  must  be  admitted,  contend  that  if  an  Indian  name  is 
to  be  appropriated  it  should  be  the  correct  one,  say  that 
this  name  must  be  Alemipigon,  which  means  "  the  lake 
of  the  myriad  rocks."  It  is  an  appropriate  title,  for 
there  are  almost  innumerable  small  islands  scattered 
all  over  it.  In  some  there  are  caves,  large  or  small, 
into  many  of  which  it  is  possible  to  take  a  canoe;  but 
this  is  rather  risky,  because  when  the  breeze  is  strong 
the  waves  rush  in  and  imperil  a  birch  bark  canoe  that  is 
easily  upset  or  more  easily  punctured  by  a  projecting 
rock.  As  the  waves  rush  into  these  caves  they  make  a 
booming  sound  which  is  reverberated  from  the  walls 
and  roofs  in  a  most  eerie  fashion  that  would  fill  the 
superstitious  Indians  with  panicky  fear. 


198  THE     COMING     CANADA 

From  my  own  experiences  and  observations  of  Lake 
Superior,  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  add  my  testimony  to 
that  of  Mr.  Paul  Fountain  *  when  he  says:  ''So  far  as 
I  can  discover  there  is  very  little  recorded  of  Superior 
and  some  of  that  does  not  quite  agree  with  my  experi- 
ence. For  instance,  an  American  writer  says  that  the 
navigation  of  Superior  is  not  so  dangerous  as  that  of 
the  other  great  lakes,  and  says  that  there  is  more  'sea- 
room  '  here  than  in  the  other  lakes.  I  can  say,  from  my 
experience,  that  this  is  not  correct.  Superior  is  cer- 
tainly by  far  the  largest  of  the  five  great  lakes,  but  its 
larger  islands  are  so  placed  that  there  is  less  actual 
sea-room,  as  understood  by  sailors,  than  in  either 
Michigan  or  Huron.  As  to  storms,  they  are  as  violent, 
but  I  think  not  more  so,  as  in  any  of  the  other  lakes; 
that  they  are  more  frequent  I  am  sure.  As  I  have 
already  said,  I  do  not  think  that  dangerous  gales  are  ever 
absent,  in  winter  time,  from  some  part  of  the  lake." 
Besides  Thunder  Cape,  there  are  a  number  of  cliffs  on 
the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior  which  rise,  more  or 
less  sheer,  to  a  thousand  feet  or  over. 

What  a  change  has  come  in  the  opinion  which  Cana- 
dians hold  of  the  country  north  of  the  great  lakes  and 
tributary  to  them.  I  can  remember  when  it  was  all 
considered  a  sort  of  desert,  certainly  uninhabitable 
because  assumed  to  be  unproductive;  now  the  rail- 
ways have  stations  at  short  intervals  and  those  stations 
are  used  by  farmers  who  have  a  surplus  to  sell.  As  this 
region  becomes  better  known,  it  is  certain  to  be  more 
and  more  attractive  because  of  its  scenery. 

♦  The  Great  Northwest  and  the  Great  Lake  Region  of  North  America. 


GREAT     ST.     LAWRENCE     BASIN      I99 

Excluding  the  Laurentian  district,  there  is  very  little 
of  Ontario  Province  that  is  not  arable  land.  When  the 
War  of  American  Independence  had  been  fought  and 
the  United  Empire  Loyalists  betook  themselves  to 
Canada,  it  was  to  the  unbroken  forest  region  of  bleak 
and  unattractive  Ontario  that  a  large  number  of  these 
refugees  were  compelled  to  go  because,  with  the  best 
intentions  as  to  hospitality  and  generosity,  it  was 
impossible  for  the  Colonial  government  to  make  pro- 
vision for  them  elsewhere.  At  that  time  it  was  con- 
sidered a  great  hardship;  to-day  Ontario  is  the  most 
populous  province  of  the  Dominion,  yet  comparatively 
few  of  its  two  and  a  half  or  three  million  souls  hve 
beyond  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin.  The  peninsula  bounded 
by  Georgian  Bay,  Lakes  Huron,  St.  Clair,  Erie,  and 
Ontario,  and  the  connecting  river,  is  the  garden  of  the 
Dominion.  Its  scenic  attractions  are  not  remarkable, 
but  the  evidences  of  thrift,  comfort,  and  culture  are 
most  pleasingly  apparent.  Statisticians  quite  logically 
and  very  consistently  consider  this  great  province,  which 
is  1000  miles  east  and  west  and  a  thousand  miles  north 
and  south,  in  three  sections  —  eastern,  western,  and 
northern.  The  eastern  embraces  all  the  land  between 
the  Ottawa  River  and  Lake  Ontario;  the  western  Hes 
north  of  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron  until  Superior  is  reached. 
Northern  Ontario,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called  "New 
Ontario,"  is  all  the  rest,  from  the  Quebec  boundary  to 
James  Bay,  along  Keewatin  to  Manitoba  and  Minnesota 
and  Wisconsin;  but  of  course  some  of  northern  Ontario 
is  not  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin.  It  would  be  somewhat 
difficult  to  say  just  what  —  of  the  products  of  land  and 


200  THE     COMING     CANADA 

fresh  water  —  Ontario  does  not  possess;  but  it  is  reason- 
ably safe  to  declare  that  husbandry  is  going  to  continue 
the  important  enterprise.  Yet  this  occupation  must 
be  considered  in  its  widest  aspect  —  grain,  fruits, 
vegetables,  dairy  products,  Hve  stock  —  must  all  be 
included.  These,  directly  or  indirectly,  require  the 
co-operation  of  all  kinds  of  manufacturers,  and  as  a 
consequence,  the  cities  are  in  eastern  and  western 
Ontario.  These  are,  after  Montreal  and  Quebec,  the 
largest  and  most  important  places  in  the  Dominion  — 
Toronto,  Hamilton,  London,  Kingston,  Brantford,  and 
others. 

The  latest  report  of  the  Department  of  Indian  Affairs  * 
gives  the  number  of  Indians  in  the  Dominion  as  104,956. 
Of  these  the  26,393  who  are  residing  on  the  twenty- 
three  reservations  allotted  to  them  in  Ontario,  or  culti- 
vating (with  official  permission)  their  own  farms,  are 
the  most  advanced  in  every  way.  A  great  many  of 
them  are  Chippewas  or  Ojibbewas;  but  a  good  many 
are  survivors  of  the  Six  Nations,  those  Iroquois  who, 
it  will  be  remembered,  were  so  much  dreaded  by  the 
French  and  afterwards  by  the  English,  until  they  were 
effectually  crushed  in  the  i8th  century.  In  his  annual 
report  for  1884,  Sir  John  Macdonald,  then  premier, 
referring  to  these  Indians,  said:  ''Many  of  their  farms 
are  well  cultivated  and  the  products  of  the  soil  and 
dairy  exhibited  at  their  annual  agricultural  exhibits 
command   the   admiration   of   all  persons  who   attend 

*This  is  for  the  year  ended  March  31,  1912,  and  I  am  indebted  to 
the  courtesy  of  Robert  Rogers,  Esq.,  Superintendent  General  of  Indian 
Affairs,  and  Frank  Pedley,  Esq.,  Deputy  Superintendent  General,  for 
a  copy. 


GREAT     ST.     LAWRENCE     BASIN       20I 

them.  Their  exhibit  of  this  year  was  remarkably  suc- 
cessful, and  they  combined  with  it  the  centennial  cele- 
bration of  the  grant  made  to  them  by  the  Crown  of  the 
tract  of  land  of  which  their  reserve  forms  a  part,  in 
recognition  of  their  loyalty  and  valour  as  practically 
proved  on  numerous  occasions  on  the  field  of  battle  in 
defense  of  the  British  flag."  It  would  be  an  unpardon- 
able omission  not  to  mention  these  Indians  as  an  ethno- 
logical feature  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Basin. 

As  an  indication  of  the  ease  with  which  the  St.  Law- 
rence and  Hudson  Bay  blend,  it  may  be  stated  that 
Chapleau,  a  station  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway's 
main  line,  Ontario  Province,  is  a  post  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  It  is  on  the  waterways  which  flow 
through  Moose  River  into  James  Bay.  The  country 
lying  between  Lake  Superior  and  James  Bay  is  one  of 
the  best  regions  for  the  trapper,  and  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  is  naturally  availing  itself  of  all  the  facilities 
which  the  railway  affords  for  getting  into  these  hunting 
grounds. 

If  the  many  interesting  and  attractive  islands  of  the 
Great  Lakes  which  are  within  the  Dominion  borders 
are  passed  by,  it  is  not  because  they  do  not  appeal  to 
tourist  and  sportsman,  but  because  of  the  limitation  of 
space. 

When  the  geographical  St.  Lawrence  River  begins, 
at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  Basin  narrows  very 
much.  Here,  in  the  opinion  of  those  who  are  specially 
seeking  the  picturesque,  commences  the  most  attractive 
part  of  the  valley.  The  Thousand  Islands  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  are  so  well  known,  either  by  actual  acquaint- 


202  THE     COMING     CANADA 

ance  or  by  description,  that  little  remains  to  be  said  about 
them.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  upwards  of  Two 
Thousand  of  these  islands  and  islets,  instead  of  a 
thousand.  If  we  accept  the  statement  of  some  authori- 
ties, then  Wolfe  Island,  just  south  of  Kingston,  is  the 
largest,  while  the  smallest  are  ''mere  dimples  on  the 
surface  of  the  broad  river  and  supporting  not  the  least 
verdure  on  their  barren  rocks,"  serving  no  purpose  save 
that  of  being  a  danger  to  navigation.  Many  of  the 
islands  are  the  private  property  of  Canadians  or  Ameri- 
cans who  have  their  summer  homes  thereon,  and  find 
the  situation  one  which  contributes  much  to  pleasure 
and  recuperation.  To  the  average  traveller,  the  modest 
shooting-box  is  more  in  harmony  with  the  surroundings 
than  is  the  would-be  grandeur  of  an  imitation  of  an  old- 
world  castle. 

The  section  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  from  Lake 
Ontario  to  the  last  of  the  Thousand  Islands,  was  called 
by  the  Indians  Manatoana,  ''The  Garden  of  the  Great 
Spirit."  That  it  is  brimming  over  with  legend,  need 
not  be  afhrmed.*  The  last  of  these  islands  are  a  small 
group  which  is  called  "The  Three  Sisters,"  from  their 
resemblance  to  one  another  and  because  they  are  so 
close  together. 

Not  far  below  The  Three  Sisters  the  rapids  begin: 
the  Gallops,  Rapides  du  Plat,  the  Long  Sault,  Coteau, 
Cedar,  Split  Rock,  Cascade,  and  finishing  with  Lachine. 
When  this  last  one  is  passed,  the  steamboat  is  at  Montreal 
and  the  most  romantic  parts  of  the  river  are  behind  the 
tourist.     These  rapids  do  not  come  quite  so  consecu- 

*  Conf.  Clifton  Johnson,  The  Picturesque  St.  Laurence,  chap.  II. 


GREAT     ST.     LAWRENCE     BASIN      203 

lively  as  their  enumeration  might  suggest.  Between 
some  of  them  are  long  stretches  of  clear  water  and  in 
places  —  such  as  Lake  St.  Francis,  just  below  the  Long 
Sault,  and  Lake  St.  Louis,  below  the  Cascade,  the  river 
spreads  out  to  such  width  as  to  make  the  names  quite 
appropriate. 

It  is  impossible  to  do  more  than  give  a  suggestion  of 
the  Saguenay  River,  the  lovely  Lake  St.  John  from 
which  it  flows,  and  the  country  tributary  to  lake  and 
river.  As  a  freak  of  Nature,  the  rift  in  the  black  rock 
down  which  the  stream  flows  is  one  of  the  most  marvel- 
lous things  I  know.  Probably  the  most  effective  brief 
description  of  the  Saguenay  is  contained  in  these  woods: 
Is  it  a  disappointment,  or  is  it  overwhelming?  This  is 
the  question  that  nearly  every  visitor  asks  himself  after 
going  up  to  the  lake  and  returning.  The  answer  comes 
slowly  but  surely  and  the  remembrance  of  that  strange 
river  never  leaves  one;  its  awful  immensity  and  majesty 
grow  forever.  One  writer  contends  that  there  is  reason 
to  believe  the  old  Iberian  ships  were  on  the  Saguenay 
before  Christ  was  born. 

''The  climax  of  this  awe-inspiring  scenery  is  reached 
at  Trinity  Bay,  where  the  stupendous  height  of  Cape 
Trinity  frowns  down  upon  the  intruder,  a  bare  wall  of 
limestone  that  towers  nearly  two  thousand  feet  into 
mid-air.  Its  frowning  brows,  thrust  out  three  hundred 
feet  over  the  water,  give  the  beholder  a  dread  lest  it 
tumble  upon  him.  Rent  asunder  by  some  far-distant 
glacial  power,  the  great  column  is  really  made  up  of 
three  sections  so  placed  that  at  first  sight  they  look  Hke 
huge  steps  leading  to  a  mighty  flight  of  stairs,  such  a 


204  THE     COMING     CANADA 

ladder  as  the  ancient  Titan,  warring  here  against  the 
elements,  might  be  expected  to  climb  in  his  ascent  to 
strive  with  the  gods  for  a  supremacy.  In  marked  con- 
trast to  this  gloomy  giant  of  Three  in  One  —  a  trinity 
—  stands  Cape  Eternity,  within  a  hundred  feet  as  high 
as  its  sombre  brother,  but  clothed  in  a  warm  vesture 
from  foot  to  crown,  and  looking  calm  and  peaceful. 
Wrapped  in  never-fading  vestments  drawn  closely  about 
its  huge  body,  well  may  it  defy  the  storms  of  this  wintry 
region  for  all  time."  *  Only  a  mere  suggestion  of  the 
Great  St.  Lawrence  Basin  has  been  given  in  this  chapter; 
for  there  is  not  one  of  its  three  thousand  miles  that  does 
not  offer  some  attraction. 

*  George  Waldo  Browne,  The  St.  Lawrence  River. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  CANADIAN  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS 

THE  region  which  I  have  chosen  to  include  in  this 
chapter  has,  along  the  International  Boundary, 
a  broad  base  which  measures  something  Hke  ten  degrees 
of  longitude,  if  we  include  the  Cascade  Mountains  of 
British  Columbia,  and  this  may  very  properly  be  done. 
It  is  not  always  safe  to  depend  upon  whatever  atlas  or 
book  of  reference  comes  to  one's  hand,  for  informa- 
tion about  countries  which  have  not  yet  been  settled 
as  to  boundaries  and  fixed  as  to  government.  I  hap- 
pened, when  looking  up  some  data  pertinent  to  this 
chapter,  to  turn  to  Col  ton's  Atlas  of  the  World,  bearing 
the  date  of  1856.  That  was  only  fifty-seven  years  ago, 
and  yet  there  is  hardly  any  name  on  the  map  of  Canada 
—  beyond  the  limits  of  Canada  East,  Canada  West, 
and  the  Maritime  Provinces  —  which  is  to  be  found  in 
any  atlas  now  used  in  the  public  schools  of  the  Domin- 
ion; or  in  the  United  States,  for  that  matter.  British 
Columbia,  which  is  of  so  much  importance  when  we 
think  of  the  Canadian  Rockies,  is  called  New  Georgia 
on  that  old  map;  the  central  prairie  section  and  the 
northern  districts  are  chopped  up  into  a  great  number  of 
small  tracts  that  are  given  names  so  fantastic  that  I 
am  sure  the  draughtsman  who  prepared  that  map 
simply  let  his  pen  run  riot  and  gave  free  rein  to  his 


2o6  THE     COMING     CANADA 

imagination.  Very  few,  of  what  I  suppose  were  intended 
to  be  political  divisions,  were  ever  known  to  the  Cana- 
dian officials  by  the  names  which  appear  on  that  map. 

From  the  broad,  yet  not  continuous,  base  along  the 
American  frontier,  the  mountains  trend  off  towards 
the  northwest,  and  they  include  of  course  the  Selkirks, 
the  Cascade  Range,  many  spurs  in  the  south,  and  the 
semi-detached  range  of  the  St.  Elias  Alps  of  southern 
Alaska.  Broadly  speaking,  the  Canadian  Rocky  Moun- 
tain system  embraces  the  mountains  of  the  islands 
stretching  along  the  coast  of  British  Columbia:  the 
system  finally  runs  out  in  the  remotest  Klondike  district 
of  the  Yukon  Territory.  The  average  width  of  the 
mountain  belt,  from  the  International  boundary  to  the 
Yukon  Territory  line,  is  about  four  hundred  miles,  and 
in  the  south  it  takes  in  pretty  nearly  the  whole  width  of 
British  Columbia.  The  tallest  peaks  in  the  whole 
section  are  found  near  the  southern  end  of  the  boundary 
—  determined  by  jo'nt  commission  only  a  couple  of 
years  ago  *  —  separating  Alaska  and  Yukon  territories. 
In  Canadian  territory  there  is  Mt.  Logan,  19,540  feet; 
while  Mt.  St.  Elias,  18,000  feet,  from  whose  summit 
starts  the  international  boundary  along  the  141st 
meridian  west  of  Greenwich,  is  common  property.  It 
is  hardly  fair  to  include  Mt.  McKinley,  20,000  feet,  in 
this  knob  of  mountains,  for  it  is  ten  degrees  west  of  the 
boundary  and  in  Alaska.  But  the  group  may  properly 
include  Mt.  Natazhat  and  Mt.  Wrangle;  nevertheless 
it  is  fully  one  thousand  miles  northwest  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  proper.  All  these  peaks  I  have  just  named 
*  See  American  Geographical  Magazine  for  September,  1912. 


CANADIAN    ROCKY     MOUNTAINS    207 

and  others  in  their  immediate  or  proximate  neighbour- 
hood, are  encoated  with  glaciers  and  snow-capped 
perennially,  save  in  a  few  open  nooks  looking  towards 
the  south. 

In  the  Rocky  Mountains  proper,  the  southern  section 
along  the  boundary  between  Alberta  and  British  Colum- 
bia, there  are  peaks  cUmbing  up  to  ten  or  twelve  thou- 
sand feet  above  sea-level;  but  they  are  not  covered  with 
snow  all  the  year  round,  and  while  there  are  plenty  of 
glaciers,  most  of  them  are  small;  while  even  these  must 
be  rather  exceptionally  located.  Owing  to  the  influence 
of  the  mild  air  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  snow  line  in 
southern  British  Columbia  is  remarkably  high,  and 
even  in  what  we  think  of  as  '^ Arctic  Alaska"  it  is  from 
two  to  three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  For  the 
same  reason,  the  British  Columbia  timber  line  is  high, 
7500  feet  in  the  south,  and  4000  feet  in  Alaska.  Indeed, 
the  western  slopes  of  the  Canadian  Rockies  —  especially 
the  Selkirks  and  the  Coast  Range  —  show  a  vegetation 
that  is  almost  tropical  in  its  luxuriance  and  density. 
The  grand  cedar  forests,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Douglas 
fir,  are  well  known  to  all  botanists  and  lumbermen,  and 
they  have  justly  aroused  the  admiration  of  all  visitors. 
Many  of  those  trees  are  quite  ten  feet  in  diameter  and 
they  tower  up  as  straight  as  a  ship's  mast  to  the  height 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 

Throughout  the  whole  region  that  is  included  witliin 
the  bounds  of  the  Canadian  Rockies,  it  is  no  exaggera- 
tion to  say  that  everyone  whose  interest  or  occupation 
is  related  to  the  earth  itself  may  find  a  place  where  his 
particular  bent  can  be  followed  to  the  fullest  extent. 


2o8  THE     COMING     CANADA 

The  lower  valleys  offer  to  the  husbandman  farms,  vary- 
ing in  extent  from  a  few  acres  up  to  wide  domains  which 
satisfy  the  ideals  of  the  most  ambitious  ranchman.  The 
foothills  of  the  western  slopes  have  already  been  demon- 
strated to  be  as  well  adapted  to  the  fruit  grower's  needs 
as  any  part  of  the  world.  The  miner  has  a  choice 
amongst  such  a  variety  of  metals  and  minerals  as 
scarcely  admits  of  enumeration.  The  lumberman,  as 
has  been  stated,  may  still  wield  his  axe  in  what  is  the 
largest  tract  of  virgin  timber  to  be  seen  in  North  America, 
and  therefore  in  all  the  world.  The  trapper  may  yet 
pursue  his  avocation  most  profitably. 

But  I  imagine  that  it  is  for  the  tourist  the  Canadian 
Rockies  will  be  an  attraction  par  excellence;  although 
of  course  the  sportsman  will  demand  the  right  to  share 
the  privileges  with  the  visitor  who  is  mainly  on  pleasure 
bent.  Until  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway  is  pre- 
pared to  run  passenger  trains  into  and  through  the 
Rocky  Mountains  along  its  more  northern  pass,  the 
stations  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  Banff, 
Laggan,  Field,  Donald,  Glacier,  Revelstoke,  Kamloops, 
and  doubtless  some  others,  will  be  the  objective  point 
of  tourists  and  sportsmen  who  contemplate  excursions 
into  this  world  of  mountains. 

Banff  is,  however,  the  most  important  and  popular 
of  these  places,  because  it  is  the  central  point  of  the 
Canadian  National  Park.  Within  easy  reach  of  this 
station  there  is  so  much  charming  scenery  and  natural 
beauty  that  the  Dominion  Government,  co-operating 
with  the  Railway  Company,  has  set  apart  a  tract  of 
about  260  square  miles  for  the  purposes  of  this  Park. 


CANADIAN     ROCKY     MOUNTAINS    209 

Good  roads  have  been  made  to  all  places  which  are 
accessible  by  wheeled  vehicles;  and  to  those  that  are 
in  wilder  districts,  bridle-paths  have  been  cut.  A 
detachment  of  the  efficient  Northwest  Mounted  PoUce 
maintains  order  and  watches  the  careless  visitor  to  see 
that  fires  do  not  spread  and  that  wanton  destruction 
is  not  committed.  It  is  a  strange  commentary  upon 
human  nature  that  some  people  who  are  so  well  provided 
with  means  as  to  be  able  to  take  these  excursions,  must 
nevertheless  be  watched  to  see  that  they  do  not  deface 
Nature.  One  would  naturally  suppose  that  at  least  a 
measure  of  culture  and  consideration  would  go  with 
ability  to  travel;  but  it  is  starthng  how  often  there  is 
an  absolute  lack  of  such  blending.  In  the  summer 
Banff  is,  in  a  small  way,  one  of  the  most  cosmopohtan 
places.  Travellers  bound  for  the  Far  East  often  give 
themselves  an  extra  day  or  two  for  the  overland  journey 
to  Vancouver,  in  order  that  they  may  ''stop  over"  here; 
while  those  who  have  come  from  Japan  are  seldom  in 
such  a  desperate  hurry  to  go  on  to  eastern  Canada,  the 
United  States,  or  Europe,  as  to  be  unable  or  unwilUng 
to  lay  over  here  and  rest  or  revel  in  the  nearby  attrac- 
tions. Then,  too,  the  number  of  those  who  have  come 
here  specially  is  always  considerable  in  summer. 

In  July  and  August,  Banff  is  one  of  the  most  delight- 
ful places  in  all  North  America.  It  stands  4500  feet 
above  the  sea  and  in  that  latitude  this  ensures  cool 
nights;  and  cool  days,  too,  for  it  is  unusual  for  the 
mercury  to  go  as  high  as  80°  F.  in  the  shade.  During 
midsummer  there  is  very  little  rain,  and  for  this  great 
dryness  one  is  sometimes  punished  because  of  the  smoke 


210  THE     COMING     CANADA 

which  blows  down  into  the  valley  from  forest  fires  that, 
despite  the  care  of  guards,  do  ravage  the  timber.  This 
smoke  sometimes  becomes  so  thick  that  the  mountains 
are  obscured  and  through  the  yellow  pall  the  sun  shines 
in  an  uncanny  way. 

When  the  weather  is  clear,  the  atmosphere  plays  some 
queer  tricks  upon  the  strangers;  what  is  really  very 
far  away  seems  to  be  brought  quite  near;  and  the  in- 
experienced tourist,  who  refuses  to  Hsten  to  the  advice 
of  guides,  will  tramp  off  to  ascend  a  ''nearby"  mountain 
to  return  for  lunch,  when  the  experienced  know  that  the 
jaunt  is  really  a  three  days'  trip.  Mr.  Walter  Dwight 
Wilcox  *  tells  of  some  visitors  who  started  from  Banff 
Springs  Hotel  one  afternoon  to  ascend  Cascade  Moun- 
tain, which  does  seem  to  be  very  near,  and  return  the 
next  morning.  They  refused  guides,  and  at  the  end 
of  three  days  turned  up  begrimed  with  soot  and  dirt, 
having  wandered  about  in  the  burnt  timber  without 
even  getting  near  to  Cascade.  This  experience  can  be 
matched  by  similar  ones  of  those  who  have  been  deceived 
by  the  clarity  of  Colorado's  atmosphere. 

Lake  Louise  is  well  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful sheets  of  water  in  the  Canadian  Rockies,  and  it  is 
just  sufficiently  difficult  to  get  to  it  to  add  zest  to  the 
undertaking.  It  is  only  a  mile  long  and  at  its  widest 
only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  across.  The  forests  surround  it, 
coming  down  to  the  water's  edge  save  for  the  merest 
fringe  of  shingle.  The  brilliant  green  water  is  so  clear 
that  the  sand  and  stones  and  the  sunken  logs  at  the 
bottom  can  be  distinctly  seen.  Through  a  deep  notch 
*  Camping  in  the  Rockies. 


CANADIAN  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  211 

at  the  lower  end  of  this  lake,  Mount  Lefroy  pokes  its 
head  high  up  into  the  sky;  this  is  one  of  the  boldest 
peaks  of  the  great  central  watershed.  The  melting 
snow  and  the  rain  on  its  eastern  sides  run  off  into  the 
Saskatchewan  River  and  thus  reach  Hudson  Bay;  while 
the  western  side  is  drained  by  streams  which  eventually 
carry  their  waters  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Within  a  few  miles  of  Mt.  Lefroy  and  Lake  Louise 
there  are  many  other  peaks  and  mountain  tarns  which 
make  this  little  section  one  well  worthy  the  careful 
attention  of  travellers.  Although  far  from  being  abso- 
lutely difficult  of  access,  the  district  is  not  at  all  well 
known,  and  indeed  one  may  truthfully  say  that  from 
the  original  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  that 
which  still  uses  the  Kicking  Horse  Pass,  southward  to 
the  new  route  which  is  to  avoid  some  of  the  heavy 
work  of  the  present  main  line,  and  to  the  American 
boundary,  there  yet  remains  something  for  the  explorer 
to  do. 

A  careful  observer  has  said  that  in  mountainous 
regions,  where  the  air  is  very  dry,  as  in  Colorado  or  in 
certain  parts  of  the  Andes,  there  is  a  wide  belt,  some- 
times a  thousand  feet  of  altitude  or  more,  between 
timber  line  and  snow  line.  In  that  belt  there  is  not 
sufficient  moisture  to  develop  tree  growth,  and  yet  not 
enough  snow  falls  to  admit  of  glacier  formation.  In  the 
Canadian  Rockies  the  air  is  wet  enough  to  let  these 
lines,  timber  and  snow,  approach;  and  in  the  Selkirks 
the  humidity  is  so  great  that  the  snow  line  actually 
intrudes  upon  the  timber.  In  these  conditions,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  in  the  western  valleys  of  the  Canadian 


212  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Rockies  there  are  many  glaciers  already  known,  and  it 
is  reasonable  to  assume  that  there  are  more  which  have 
not  yet  been  discovered;  but  with  such  exceptions  as 
the  glacier  at  Glacier  House  on  the  C.  P.  R.  most  of 
these  Canadian  ice-river?  are  small. 

If  my  reader  wishes  to  get  an  idea  of  how  much  there 
is  for  the  adventurous  tourist  to  do  in  the  Canadian 
Rockies,  or  for  the  careful,  scientific  explorer  to  discover, 
let  him  read  some  books  like  those  which  have  been 
mentioned  (and  made  use  of)  in  these  pages,  and  then 
turn  to  what  is  claimed  to  be  a  fairly  up-to-date  map  of 
the  Dominion.  He  will  learn  that  even  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  Cordillera  Belt,  the  writer  is  far  ahead  of 
the  cartographist.  As  to  the  northern  part,  the  little 
information  we  have  is  that  to  be  gleaned  from  an 
occasional  book  telling  of  some  small  section. 

Saint  Piran  is  a  mountain  peak,  of  no  astonishing 
altitude,  8000  feet  only,  but  interesting  because  it  was 
a  useful  triangulation  station  for  the  engineers  who  laid 
out  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  through  the  Rockies; 
and  doubtless  the  survey  and  location  reports  for  the 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  and  the  Canadian  Northern  will 
add  something  to  our  fund  of  information  concerning 
mountain  peaks  and  other  matters  of  importance. 
Saint  Piran  has  further  interest  because  its  round  dome- 
like summit,  far  above  the  timber  Hne,  is,  like  many 
another  ''Bald,"  a  favourite  haunt  of  butterflies.  Some 
of  the  rarest  and  most  beautiful  of  these  creatures  gather 
here  in  great  numbers  during  the  long,  bright,  sunny 
days  of  summer,  attracted  by  the  gaudy  alpine  flowers 
which  have  devoted  all  their  plant  energy  to  producing 


CANADIAN    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS    213 

large,  brilliantly  coloured  blossoms  that  lure  and  nourish 
the  various  winged  creatures. 

Not  far  from  Laggan,  a  small  station  thirty-seven 
miles  west  of  Banff,  is  a  mountain  with  a  depression 
between  its  two  peaks;  one  of  which  is  higher  and  sharper 
than  the  other.  The  conformation  gives  the  appearance 
of  pommel  and  crupper,  so  that  the  mountain  is  called 
The  Saddle.  A  trail  has  been  cut  and  this  topical 
alpine,  or  elevated  mountain,  meadow  is  a  popular  jaunt 
with  tourists.  The  ''long,  rich  grass  waves  in  the 
summer  breezes,  beautified  by  mountain  flowers, 
anemones,  sky-blue  forget-me-nots,  and  scarlet  castil- 
leias.  Scattered  larch-trees  make  a  very  park  of  this 
place,  while  the  great  smiHng  slopes  rise  in  graceful 
curves  toward  the  mountain  peaks  on  either  side." 
About  three  miles  beyond  The  Saddle  stands  Mount 
Temple,  the  highest  peak  at  all  near  the  C.  P.  R.  Its 
summit  is  11,658  feet  above  the  sea,  and  because  the 
mountain  is  surrounded  by  valleys  that  are  rarely  more 
than  6000  feet,  its  appearance  is  rendered  all  the  more 
effective.  The  precipitous  walls  breathe  defiance  to 
even  the  most  adept  alpinist  on  all  sides  save  the  south; 
and  even  there  the  ascent  may  not  be  made  too  easily. 
The  partly  melted  and  re-congealed  snow  has  made  a 
remarkable  glacier  on  the  summit,  and  because  there  is 
no  overhanging  peak  from  which  may  fall  stones  and 
debris,  the  ice  is  of  singular  purity.  "On  the  west  face, 
the  glacier  overhangs  a  precipice,  and,  by  constantly 
crowding  forward  and  breaking  off,  has  formed  a  nearly 
vertical  face  of  ice,  which  is  in  one  place  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  thick.     I  have  seen  passengers  on 


214  THE     COMING     CANADA 

the  trains  who  were  surprised  to  learn  that  the  ice  in 
this  very  place  is  anything  more  than  a  yard  in  depth, 
and  who  regarded  with  misplaced  pity  and  contempt 
those  who  have  any  larger  ideas  on  the  subject."  * 

In  confirmation  of  what  I  have  said  about  the  possi- 
bilities for  explorers  and  tourists,  I  add  that  in  1895 
only,  Mount  Assiniboine  (some  insist  upon  the  older, 
Indian,  form  Assiniboia),  a  remarkable  peak  south  of 
Banff,  was  stumbled  upon  by  chance.  Its  height  has 
not  even  yet  been  accurately  determined,  and  from  the 
few  accounts  given  of  the  wonderful  mountain,  it  is 
not  likely  to  be  done  by  actual  ascent  very  soon.  It  is 
probably  the  highest  peak  that  has  yet  been  found 
between  the  International  Boundary  and  Mounts 
Brown  and  Hooker  (52°  30'  N.).  The  mountain  is  so 
unusually  steep  on  all  sides  that  no  one  has  yet,  I  believe, 
gained  the  top.  There  are  so  many  small,  beautiful 
lakes  in  the  neighbourhood  that  the  locality  —  it  is 
five  or  six  days  by  camping  and  pack  outfit  from  Banff 
—  must  be  exceptionally  attractive.  The  trail  which  has 
already  been  made  from  the  main  line  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  is  said  to -lead  through  meadows  that 
are  carpeted  with  wild  flowers  in  summer,  and  among 
them  are  some  rather  rare  orchids,  the  Calypso  for 
example.  The  view  of  Mount  Assiniboine  from  Summit 
Lake  must  be  most  exhilarating,  and  the  excellent 
photogravure  in  Mr.  Wilcox's  book  very  distinctly  recalls 
the  Matterhorn  by  its  sharp  pinnacle  form. 

*  Wilcox,  op.  cit. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  HUDSON  BAY   TERRITORY 

A  GOODLY  portion  of  this  formerly  great  domain, 
almost  imperial  in  its  dimensions,  has  recently 
been  annexed  to  the  provinces  of  Quebec,  Ontario,  and 
Manitoba.  Some  was  previously  set  off  as  the  provinces 
of  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta.  The  remainder  is  now 
included  in  the  North  West  Territories  and  Yukon 
Territory.  The  geographical  names,  Ungava  and  Kee- 
watin,  have  disappeared  from  the  map,  if  not  perma- 
nently, at  least  until  development  and  increase  of 
population  justify  the  Dominion  Government's  creating 
additional  political  divisions. 

If  I  were  a  cartographer,  I  should  hesitate  a  long  time 
before  designating  any  part  of  this  earth's  surface  as 
desert,  or  inhospitable,  or  barren;  unless  it  were  such  a 
section  as  Arabia,  the  African  deserts  —  Sahara  and 
Libya  —  and  others,  concerning  which  our  information 
is  adequate  and  precise  enough  to  justify  the  condem- 
natory designation.  I  make  this  prefatory  remark 
because  on  the  maps  that  I  studied  as  a  schoolboy,  and 
even  on  those  which  were  given  to  children  of  the  gener- 
ation following  me,  much  of  this  great  Hudson  Bay 
Territory  was  branded  inaccurately  because  of  the 
ignorance  of  those  who  were  required  to  make  maps, 


2l6  THE     COMING     CANADA 

and  yet  were  not  furnished  with  proper  data  for  carry- 
ing out  their  work  correctly. 

The  portion  of  the  Dominion  which  is  to  be  considered 
in  this  chapter  is  really  that  territory  which  was  included 
in  the  original  charter  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
or  appropriated  by  the  Company's  officials  without 
precise  warrant.  For  rather  more  than  half  of  the 
territory  over  which  the  Company  eventually  claimed 
jurisdiction,  their  title  was  legally  only  that  of  squatters; 
but  it  was  found  easier  to  recognise  that  title  than  to 
incur  the  expense  of  disputing  it.  I  was  much  surprised 
to  be  told  by  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Wilfred  Laurier, 
who  was  for  many  years  —  and  until  two  years  ago  — 
Prime  Minister  of  Canada,  that  the  history  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  is  but  little  known;  and  yet,  when 
I  came  to  investigate  the  subject,  I  found  the  statement 
to  be  quite  accurate. 

Undoubtedly  there  is  a  great  deal  of  interesting  infor- 
mation hidden  away  in  the  archives  of  England  and 
Canada,  that  is  waiting  for  some  competent  scholar  to 
digest  and  publish  it.  When  this  is  done,  we  shall  be 
astonished  more  by  the  delicacy  and  precision  of  the 
internal  mechanism  than  by  any  external  aspects  of 
the  giant  monopoly.  It  was  certainly  one  of  the  most 
perfectly  organised  commercial  enterprises  that  ever 
existed.  Although  the  Company  came  to  be,  in  the 
i8th  century,  perhaps  the  biggest  bone  over  which 
France  and  England  contended,  yet  its  inception  was 
undoubtedly  due  to  explorations  and  activities  of  the 
French. 

Very  few  of  the  French  people  who  left  Europe  in  the 


THE     HUDSON     BAY     TERRITORY     217 

17  th  century  to  make  for  themselves  new  homes  in 
America,  settled  down  as  farmers  or  tillers  of  the  soil 
in  any  way,  or  as  tradesmen.  Nearly  all  of  the  men, 
and  I  believe  I  am  correct  when  I  say  all  the  young  men, 
became  hunters  and  trappers;  and  for  this  avocation 
the  young  French  immigrants  displayed  remarkable 
qualifications.  They  appear  to  have  adapted  them- 
selves more  readily  to  the  ways  of  the  Indians  than  did 
any  other  Europeans;  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  at 
first  certainly  and  for  a  long  time,  the  French  were  more 
successful  in  gaining  the  friendship  and  confidence  of 
the  savage  Red  Men  than  were  their  EngUsh  competitors. 

In  the  introduction  which  Sir  Wilfred  Laurier  wrote 
for  the  second  volume  of  Mr.  J.  Castell  Hopkins'  En- 
cyclopaedia of  Canada,  he  makes  a  statement  which  I 
think  no  competent  observer  will  deny:  ''It  would  seem 
that  the  very  wildness  of  the  forest  exercised  a  strange 
fascination  over  the  men  of  the  Gallic  race,  which  made 
them  cling  to  the  adventurer's  life  for  the  very  love  of  it, 
when  it  had  been  first  embraced  for  profit  and  lucre. 
There  sprang  into  existence  a  class  of  men  who  became 
and  have  remained  famous  all  over  the  continent  under 
the  name  of  coureurs  des  hois;  rovers  of  the  forest,  im- 
patient of  the  restraints  of  civilisation,  delighting  in  the 
freedom  of  the  Indian  whose  hut  they  shared  and  whose 
garb  they  adopted  —  a  garb  under  which  there  often 
coursed  the  best  and  proudest  blood  of  old  France." 

When  Radisson  and  de  Groseillier  came  back  to  Quebec 
after  having  made  their  way  to  James  Bay  (Hudson 
Bay),  they  offered  to  take  ships  through  Hudson's 
Straits  into  the  very  heart  of  the  fur  country;    for  it 


2l8  THE     COMING     CANADA 

will  be  remembered  that  Radisson  had  declared  the 
streams  which  empty  into  James  Bay  to  be  the  beaver 
country  par  excellence.  Had  the  offer  been  accepted, 
not  only  would  the  difficult  and  dangerous  canoe  route 
by  way  of  Lake  Superior,  or  the  shorter  but  rather  more 
hazardous  one  from  the  Ottawa  River,  have  been 
avoided,  but  the  priority  of  occupation  thereby  gained 
for  the  Frenchmen  would  have  prevented,  in  all  prob- 
ability, the  expense,  destruction  of  property,  and  loss 
of  life  which  the  subsequent  rivalry  between  the  English 
and  French  caused. 

The  plan  of  the  voyageurs  was  rejected  in  both  Canada 
and  France,  and  therefore  the  two  men  went  to  London, 
because  the  British  ambassador  at  Paris  told  them  they 
would  be  reasonably  sure  to  gain  a  favourable  hearing. 
The  proposition  was  entertained,  and  a  preliminary 
expedition  was  sent  to  Hudson  Bay  by  some  merchants 
then  connected  with  the  Newfoundland  trade.  This 
initial  venture  was  so  very  successful  that  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  promptly  followed. 
It  was  a  long  time,  however,  before  the  Company  was 
firmly  estabHshed  throughout  the  vast  region  which  came 
to  be  known  as  Rupert's  Land,  and  later  The  North 
West  Territories;  but  eventually  all  the  continent  from 
Canada  west  to  Russian  possessions  was  appropriated. 

Hudson's  Bay  Company's  posts,  or  ''forts,"  were  to 
be  found  along  all  the  northern  coast  of  the  mainland, 
and  upon  some,  at  least,  of  the  Arctic  islands,  as  well  as 
on  the  Labrador  coast.  From  the  icy  streams  which  flow 
into  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  their  tributaries,  those  posts 
spread  out  over  the  great  territory,  and  were  pushed  on 


THE     HUDSON     BAY     TERRITORY     219 

and  on  until  they  were  to  be  found  on  the  Pacific's 
shores,  in  regions  that  even  the  wildest  fancy  of  H.  R.H. 
Prince  Rupert,  Duke  of  Cumberland,  and  his  titled  or 
humble  colleagues  of  the  ''body  corporate  and  politic" 
styled  "The  Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers 
of  England  trading  in  Hudson's  Bay,"  had  never  in- 
cluded within   the   scope   of   their  monopoly. 

When,  after  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the 
Company  had  attained  its  widest  range  and  most  com- 
plete organisation,  all  its  parts  were  working  with  that 
precision  which  can  be  secured,  in  the  affairs  of  such  a 
gigantic  enterprise,  only  when  the  controlling  power  is 
absolute  and  either  individual  or  corporate  in  the  closest 
sense  of  that  word.  Doubtless  a  very  large  part  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  success  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  every  one  of  its  post  traders  (or  Company's  agents 
or  factors)  had  been  born  in  the  Company,  so  to  speak, 
or  had  gone  to  America  from  the  northern  part  of  Scot- 
land as  a  lad,  had  toiled  steadily,  grown  old,  and  been 
forever  faithful  to  the  interests  of  the  great  corporation 
whose  servant  he  was. 

"Connecting  all  these  posts  was  a  vast,  complete, 
sure  system  of  communication.  Furs  were  collected 
from  post  to  post,  provisions  and  merchandise  dis- 
tributed, and  mails  conveyed  and  distributed,  with  less 
celerity,  no  doubt,  but  with  as  much  security  as  in  the 
most  advanced  times  of  our  own  country  in  our  own 
day.  Dog  teams  were  in  constant  motion  during  winter, 
flotillas  of  birch  canoes  during  summer.  For  two  hun- 
dred years  or  more  a  ship  especially  constructed  for  the 
hardy  service  and  as  regularly  as  the  course  of  the 


220  THE     COMING     CANADA 

planets,  crossed  and  re-crossed  between  England  and 
Hudson's  Bay,  bringing  with  it  provisions  and  articles 
of  exchange,  taking  to  England  the  furs  collected  from 
all  over  the  continent.  What  a  fascination  there  is 
in  that  history!  Of  what  development  it  is  susceptible! 
What  a  strange  alliance  it  exhibits  of  cold,  systematic 
organisation  and  of  adventurous,  romantic  experience!"  * 

Exceptions  could  hardly  be  taken,  with  propriety  that 
is  to  say,  to  considering  the  Hudson  Bay  Territory  as 
identical  with  the  claims  of  the  Company;  for  when  the 
final  negotiations  were  carried  out  it  was  the  ''North 
West"  —  or,  in  other  words,  the  territory  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  which  was  transferred,  and  it  was 
looked  upon  as  including  practically  everything  north 
and  west  of  Quebec  and  Ontario  Provinces  to  the  North 
Pole,  exclusive  of  Greenland,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  and 
the  Alaskan  frontier.  It  had  reached  out  far  beyond 
what  was  originally  contemplated;  because  in  1814, 
when  there  was  a  dispute  as  to  the  rights  of  the  Com- 
pany in  the  Red  River  of  the  North  Valley,  an  opinion 
was  given  by  learned  counsel  which,  in  part,  read  thus: 
''We  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  grant  of  the  soil  con- 
tained in  the  charter  is  good,  and  that  it  will  include  all 
countries  the  waters  of  which  flow  into  Hudson's  Bay; 
that  an  individual,  holding  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  a  lease  or  grant,  in  fee  simple,  on  any  portion 
of  their  territory,  will  be  entitled  to  all  the  ordinary 
rights  of  landed  property  in  England." 

Either  as  servants  originally  and  continuously  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  because  of  their  association 

*  Laurier. 


THE    HUDSON    BAY    TERRITORY     221 

with  that  Company  after  the  absorption  by  it  of  the 
North  West  Company  —  for  some  time  a  most  formi- 
dable rival  in  the  peltry  trade  —  there  are  several  men  of 
importance  to  be  mentioned.  Donald  A.  Smith,  after- 
wards first  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal;  Alex- 
ander Mackenzie,  afterwards  Sir  Alexander;  James 
Douglas,  afterwards  Sir  James;  The  Right  Honourable 
Edward  Ellice;  Thomas  Douglas,  fifth  Earl  of  Selkirk, 
Simon  Eraser,  and  others.  Individually  some  of  them 
will  be  mentioned  again  in  a  later  chapter.  Just  here 
it  is  sufficient  to  note  that  they  were  influential  in  expand- 
ing British  authority  throughout  the  great  region  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

At  the  time  of  the  transfer  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's titular  rights  to  the  Colonial  Government,  when 
the  North  West  Territories  became  a  part  of  the  official 
British  possessions  in  North  America,  this  vast  region 
was  looked  upon  as  truly  an  unknown  land,  and  as  such 
was  spoken  of  by  all.  It  was  assumed  to  be  an  inhos- 
pitable country,  adapted  solely  to  the  Indian  amongst 
human  beings  as  a  place  of  residence,  and  yet  of  some 
economic  value  by  reason  of  the  buffalo,  other  game,  and 
many  fur-bearing  animals.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  its 
purchase  was  vehemently  opposed  by  many  Canadians. 

Yet  as  soon  as  the  Dominion  Government  had  made 
even  a  little  progress  in  its  systematic  explorations  and 
surveys,  it  was  found  that  much  of  this  inhospitable 
region  is  admirably  suited  to  agricultural  and  pastoral 
pursuits.  It  is  very  surprising  that  the  topographical 
and  meteorological  conditions  are  comparatively  Httle 
varied,  when  we  bear  in  mind  the  great  differences  in 


222  THE     COMING     CANADA 

longitude  and  latitude.  Even  what  were  long  called 
the  monotonous  stony  tracts  and  mossy  wastes  of  frozen 
soils,  known  comprehensively  as  "The  Barren  Grounds," 
are  not  so  utterly  devoid  of  economic  possibiHties  as 
was  at  first  assumed.  The  grass  covered  plains  of  the 
southern  sections  quickly  came  to  be  known  the  world 
over,  and  their  advantages  promptly  proved  to  be 
attractive;  while  experiment  and  practical  demonstra- 
tion have  pushed  northward  and  still  farther  north  the 
bounds  set  upon  the  farming  lands  of  the  North  West. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  reveal  the  fact  that  the 
Mackenzie  River  and  its  tributaries  drain  a  very  large 
part  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  territory.  In 
1888,  a  select  committee  of  the  Dominion  Parliament 
was  appointed  to  enquire  into  the  resources  and  eco- 
nomic value  of  the  great  Mackenzie  River  Basin.  The 
report  submitted  as  a  result  of  this  committee's  investi- 
gation is  a  tremendously  bulky  document  and  is  remark- 
ably thorough  in  scope  and  incisive  in  detail.  The 
committee  undertook,  successfully,  to  give  information 
relating  to  a  tract  amounting  to  one  million  two  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  square  miles  in  area,  yet  did  not 
include  any  of  the  islands  in  the  Arctic  Sea,  although 
some  are  so  near  the  mainland  as  to  make  them  seem  to 
come  within  the  realm  of  the  report. 

To  the  Basin  a  coast  line  was  assigned  of  about  5000 
miles  on  the  Arctic  Sea  and  Hudson  Bay,  but  excluding 
all  inlets  and  deeply  indented  bays;  and  more  than  one- 
half  of  this  coast  is  readily  accessible  by  whaling  and 
sealing  craft,  as  well  as  by  merchant  steamers.  The 
lake  area  is  estimated  as  exceeding,  in  the  aggregate, 


I 


THE     HUDSON     BAY     TERRITORY     223 

that  of  the  Great  Lakes.  2750  miles  of  the  Mackenzie 
Basin  rivers  are  navigable  in  a  way:  1360  miles  for 
small  sea-going  steamers,  1390  for  light  draft  stem- 
wheel  steamboats. 

One  paragraph  of  the  report  affirms  that  there  is  a 
possible  area  of  656,000  square  miles  fitted  for  the  growth 
of  potatoes;  407,000  square  miles  suitable  for  barley; 
and  316,000  square  miles,  adapted  to  wheat.  860,000 
square  miles  are  well  suited  to  stock  raising,  26,000  of 
which  are  open  prairie  with  occasional  clumps  of  trees, 
the  remainder  being  more  or  less  wooded.  274,000 
square  miles,  including  the  prairie,  may  be  considered 
arable  land.  The  committee  gave  it  as  their  opinion 
that  400,000  square  miles,  or  one-third  of  the  total  area 
comprehended  in  their  report,  is  useless  for  the  pasturage 
of  domestic  animals  or  for  cultivation;  this  area  compris- 
ing the  so-called  Barren  Grounds  and  a  portion  of  the 
lightly  wooded  region  to  their  south  and  west. 

In  the  arable  and  pastoral  areas,  latitude  seems  to 
have  no  direct  connection  with  the  summer  isotherms: 
the  spring  flowers  and  the  buds  of  deciduous  trees  appear 
as  early  to  the  north  of  the  Great  Slave  Lake  (say  lat. 
60°  N.)  as  they  do  at  Winnipeg,  St.  Paul  and  Min- 
neapolis, Kingston  or  Ottawa,  and  earlier  along  the 
Peace,  Liard,  and  some  minor  western  affluents  of  the 
^lackenzie  River,  where  the  climate  resembles  that  of 
Western  Ontario.  The  native  grasses  and  food-plants 
(vetches)  are  always  equal,  where  they  grow,  to  those 
of  Eastern  Canada,  and  in  many  districts  they  are 
decidedly  superior.  The  prevailing  southwest  summer 
winds  bring  the  warmth  and  moisture  wliich  make  it 


224  THE     COMING     CANADA 

possible  to  cultivate  cereals  at  points  which  seem  to  be 
abnormally  far  north;  they  likewise  affect  the  cHmate 
as  far  north  as  the  Arctic  Circle,  and  eastward  to  the 
very  limits  of  the  Mackenzie  Basin. 

Subsequent  experience  has  shown  that  the  general 
tone  of  this  report  was  over-conservative,  for  the  opinions 
and  forecasts  have  been  rather  more  than  confirmed  by 
practical  efforts  of  agriculturalists  and  stockmen.  Some 
of  the  ''useless"  square  miles  have  been  made  to  yield 
fairly  remunerative  returns;  and  this  being  the  case, 
it  is  not  altogether  unreasonable  to  expect  that  intelli- 
gent effort  will  result  in  changing  some  of  the  legends  on 
maps  of  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory, 
now  northern  Manitoba,  Ontario,  and  Quebec,  possibly 
up  to  the  Labrador  border:  the  most  favourable  term 
formerly  applied  to  these  sections  was  hardly  com- 
mendatory; the  general  one  was  condemnatory.  If  a 
quarter  of  a  century  has  sufficed  to  show  that  much  of 
what  was  considered  ''impossible"  land  in  central  and 
western  Hudson's  Bay  Territory  is  not  such;  it  may  be 
that  there  is  hope  for  what  was  until  recently  Ungava. 

There  remains  one  section  of  the  Dominion  (it  was 
a  part  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  jurisdiction) 
concerning  which  I  wish  to  say  something  more.  It  is 
now  called  British  Columbia;  but  it  was  formerly  — 
and  I  bcHcve  originally,  so  far  as  Britons  were  concerned 
—  given  the  name  of  New  Caledonia;  in  imitation,  one 
is  disposed  to  think,  of  the  title  which  was  devised  for 
the  bonnie  province  at  the  other  end  of  the  American 
possessions.  Nova  Scotia.  I  am  indebted  to  the  Rev. 
A.  G.  Morice,  O.M.I.,  who  expanded  an  original  paper 


Hudson  Bay  Post,  Lake  Athabaska,  59°  N. 


Clearwatek  Rivek,   Athabaska   River,  57°  N. 


THE     HUDSON     BAY     TERRITORY     225 

on  Aboriginal  History  into  an  interesting  volume  of 
several  hundred  pages  filled  with  information  about 
British  Columbia.*  It  is  unnecessary  to  name  Mr. 
Morice's  ecclesiastical  allegiance;  but  I  may  say  that 
he  writes  with  no  sectarian  prejudice.  So  far  as  a  some- 
what extensive  experience  enables  me  to  check  his 
statements,  I  find  him  remarkably  accurate. 

I  am  truly  sorry  to  admit  that  Mr.  Morice  is  quite 
correct  when  he  says,  in  his  Preface, "  The  record  of  those 
times  and  ways  of  life  which  are  irrevocably  past  has 
never  been  written,  not  to  say  published,  and  the  only 
author  who  has  ever  touched  on  some  of  the  events 
with  which  we  will  soon  entertain  the  reader,  Hubert 
Howe  Bancroft,  is  so  irretrievably  inaccurate  in  his 
remarks  that  his  treatment  of  the  same  might  be  con- 
sidered well-nigh  worthless."  North  of  the  International 
Boundary,  Bancroft's  information  seems  to  have  been 
gathered  from  strangely  unreliable  sources,  so  that  the 
volumes  of  the  series.  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  Coast, 
which  deal  with  British  Columbia,  etc.,  are  in  unhappy 
contrast  with  the  rest  of  the  great  work. 

It  has  been  intimated  herein  that  some  time  before 
the  province  of  British  Columbia  consented  to  cast  in 
its  lot  with  the  rest  of  the  Dominion,  there  had  been  a 
provisional  form  of  government;  but  according  to  ^Ir. 
Morice  very  few  citizens  knew  that  long  before  Victoria 
(chartered  1862)  and  New  Westminster  (dates  from 
1859,  incorporated  i860)  had  been  called  into  existence, 
the  province  had  been  settled  in  a  way,  and  had  possessed 

*  The  History  of  the  Northern  Interior  of  British  Columbia,  formerly 
New  Caledonia,  1660  to  1880. 


226  THE     COMING     CANADA 

a  regular  capital  —  at  Stuart  Lake,  in  the  southern  end 
of  what  is  now  Cassiar  County,  and  far  away  from  the 
present  settled  portions  of  the  province.  At  that 
post  a  representative  of  the  British  people  ruled  over 
reds  and  whites. 

One  would  naturally  suppose  that  the  officials  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  still  in  corporate  existence 
and  very  active  and  prosperous,  would  know  something 
of  the  history  of  their  own  Company,  or  would,  at  least, 
not  permit  any  statement  to  be  made  officially  without 
estabhshing  its  accuracy;  and  yet,  according  to  Mr. 
Morice,  in  1905  it  issued  a  pamphlet  at  Vancouver  con- 
taining this  statement:  *' Although  McKenzie  came 
west  in  1793,  it  was  not  until  thirty  years  later  (or  in 
1823)  that  the  first  post  was  established  in  British  Co- 
lumbia." Now,  in  the  first  place,  the  famous  explorer's 
name  was  not  McKenzie  but  Mackenzie;  and  in  the 
second  place,  long  before  1823  six  of  the  most  important 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  trading  posts  had  been 
established  in  the  northern  part  of  New  Caledonia, 
and  their  contributions  to  the  stocks  of  the  Company 
were  such  as  to  make  the  province  one  of  the  most 
valuable  districts  in  the  Company's  territory. 

On  June  9,  1793,  Mackenzie  fell  in  for  the  first 
time  with  some  Sekania  Indians.  They  had  heard  of 
white  men  but  had  never  before  seen  any,  and  they  at 
once  ran  away.  When  Mackenzie  sent  men  to  parley 
with  them,  the  strange  Indians  were  very  boisterous  and 
wary;  but  presently  their  fears  were  allayed  and  the 
explorers  discovered  that  they  had  some  iron  implements. 
They  said  they  got  iron  from  other  Indians  living  up 


I 


THE    HUDSON     BAY    TERRITORY     227 

the  valley  of  a  large  river;  these  obtained  it  from  others 
who  lived  in  houses;  and  these  last  procured  the  metal 
from  men  who  were  Kke  Mackenzie.  The  river  Indians 
were  Carriers;  those  who  had  houses  were  Coast  Indians, 
and  the  great  river  was  the  Fraser,  as  it  was  to  be  called 
later.  A  Sekania  agreed  to  go  with  the  strangers  to 
act  as  guide;  but  he  promptly  bolted  and  Mackenzie 
was  left  to  get  along  as  best  he  could. 

Mr.  Morice  gives  almost  the  full  account  which 
Mackenzie  himself  wrote  of  his  first  encounter  with  the 
fierce  Carriers;  and  I  should  like  to  insert  it  here,  but 
it  is  too  long.  It  shows  the  man's  intrepidity  and  also 
his  success  in  gaining  the  confidence  of  these  people 
which  later  he  secured  by  going  alone  and  unarmed  into 
their  midst.  Eventually,  and  without  coming  to  blows 
with  any  of  the  natives,  Mackenzie  and  his  whole  party 
reached  an  arm  of  the  sea,  now  called  Bentinck  (Dean) 
Inlet,  where  he  cut  this  legend  on  a  rock:  "Alexander 
Mackenzie  from  Canada  by  land  the  twenty  second  of 
July  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety  three." 
Thence  the  party  returned  to  Fort  Chippewayan  (Chipe- 
wyan,  on  Lake  Athabasca,  Alberta  Province),  which 
they  reached  on  August  24th.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
it  is  not  correct  to  say,  as  do  some  writers,  that  "Simon 
Fraser  .  .  .  appears  to  have  been  the  first  white  man 
to  cross  the  Canadian  Rockies  in  charge  of  an  expedi- 
tion." *  Nor  is  it  any  more  accurate  to  say  "the 
Rocky  Mountains  formed  an  impassable  barrier  until 
Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  crossed  them  in  //po." 

*  Dr.  A.  Rattray,  History  of  the  S.  S.  "Beaver,"  Vancouver  Island 
and  British  Columbia. 


228  THE     COMING     CANADA 

In  1809  Simon  Fraser  descended  the  river  which  bears 
his  name,  from  Fraser  Lake  (Lat.  54°  N.  Long.  126°  W.) 
to  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  and  ascertained  that  the  river 
he  explored  empties  itself  into  the  ocean,  about  four 
degrees  of  latitude  north  of  the  Columbia's  mouth.  It 
was  his  purpose  to  distinguish  the  two  streams;  and 
that  he  accomplished.  David  Thompson,  for  whom 
another  important  British  Columbia  river  is  named, 
discovered  the  upper  Columbia,  and  on  July  9,  181 1, 
near  the  Snake  River  set  up  a  pole  to  which  be  afiixed 
half  a  sheet  of  paper  bearing  this  notice:  *' Know  hereby: 
this  country  is  claimed  by  Great  Britain,  and  the  North 
West  Company  from  Canada  do  hereby  intend  to  erect 
a  factory  on  this  place  for  the  commerce  of  the  country. 
D.  Thompson." 


CHAPTER  XVII 
THE  CANADIAN   WHEAT  FIELDS 

AN  idea  of  what  the  title  to  this  chapter  means,  and 
an  inkling  of  what  it  may  indicate  within  a  very 
few  years,  are  very  neatly  put  by  Agnes  Deans  Cameron.* 
*' Place  a  pair  of  dividers  with  one  leg  on  Winnipeg  and 
the  other  leg  at  Key  West,  Florida.  Then  swing  the 
lower  leg  to  the  northwest,  and  it  will  not  reach  the 
limit  of  good  agricultural  land."  It  would  be  rash  to 
say  that  the  prime  wheat  fields  of  the  Dominion  are  to  be 
defined  by  the  eastern  boundary  of  Manitoba  Province. 
What  may  be  the  possibilities  in  regions  that  are  now 
condemned  as  severely  as  was  so  much  of  the  whole 
North  West  only  a  few  years  ago,  it  is  not  for  me  even  to 
guess.  But  I  may  take  for  my  beginning  that  Vv^hich 
now  marks  the  eastern  boundary  fence  of  "Canada's 
One- thousand-mile- wheat-field."  At  Winnipeg  there  is 
now  a  choice  between  three  trunk  lines  which  cross  or 
skirt  this  pretty  little  tract;  while  of  shorter  lines  that 
penetrate  it  for  from  a  few  scores  of  miles  up  to  several 
hundreds,  there  are  so  many  that  their  time-tables  add 
just  so  many  more  to  the  puzzles  which  these  well- 
meant  (but  often  badly  executed)  helps  to  the  traveller 

*  The  New  North,  Being  Some  Account  of  a  Woman's  Journey  through 
Canada  to  the  Arctic,  igio. 


230  THE     COMING     CANADA 

create.  The  southern  border  of  this  huge  wheat  field 
may  be  called  the  International  Boundary.  Its  western 
runs  along  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Its 
northern:  well  that  is  something  for  our  grandchildren, 
or  perhaps  our  great-grandchildren  to  determine;  and 
if  the  next  century  holds  within  its  still  sealed  up 
mysteries  as  many  surprises  as  the  nineteenth  gave 
to  humanity,  it  may  be  that  the  sons  of  the  present 
Canadian's  grandchildren  will  be  holding  the  plough  — 
or  whatever  "sharp-edged  instrument  with  which  the 
Theban  husbandman  lays  bare  the  breast  of  our  good 
Mother"  —  along  the  very  shores  of  the  Arctic  Seas 
themselves ! 

I  wonder  if  Gen.  Wilham  T.  Sherman  would  have 
injected  quite  so  much  of  annoyance  and  sarcasm  into 
his  synonym  for  Canada,  "the  sleeping  nation  beyond," 
as  he  did  when  he  spoke  it  thirty  or  forty  years  ago, 
were  he  alive  to-day?  In  its  way,  the  awakening  of 
Canada  and  the  lure  which  she  is  holding  forth  to  our 
husbandmen,  are  capable  of  doing  us  more  harm  than 
could  a  successful  war:  but  is  that  fact  one  which  can 
be  resented  by  armed  force?  If  "we  are  on  the  heels 
of  the  greatest  economic  treck  this  world  has  ever  seen," 
it  would  be  churlish  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  harbour  any  hard  feelings  if  it  means 
still  further  drawing  off  of  a  population  which  they 
most  regret  to  see  going  over  to  an  economic  competitor; 
but  one  who  will  not,  I  feel  sure,  ever  be  more  than  a 
very  strenuous  and  (may  be)  troublesome  agricultural, 
industrial,  and  commercial  rival. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  hazard  which  attends  the 


THE     CANADIAN    WHEAT    FIELDS      231 

limiting  of  these  agricultural  possibilities,  I  quote  from 
Mr.  John  Macoun  *  who  wrote  just  thirty  years  ago. 
"If  150,000,000  acres  be  given  as  the  approximate 
number  of  acres  suited  to  wheat  culture,  another  100,- 
000,000  acres  could  be  added  if  the  raising  of  barley  be 
taken  into  account."  The  estimates  of  the  Dominion 
Department  of  Agriculture  for  the  season  of  191 2  gave, 
as  was  stated  in  Chapter  VIII,  the  area  under  grain 
cultivation  as  15,728,900  acres  in  the  three  provinces  of 
Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta,  and  the  same 
Department  estimates  the  arable  land  in  those  provinces 
at  upwards  of  300,000,000  acres. 

In  what  was  the  Territory  of  Ungava,  now  northern 
Quebec  and  Ontario,  and  including  that  portion  of 
Labrador  which  belongs  in  the  Dominion,  experts  in 
matters  pertaining  to  agricultural  possibiHties  are  satis- 
fied to  say  that  while  vegetables  are  successfully  grown 
in  certain  places,  and  that  in  the  middle  of  the  Labrador 
peninsula  there  is  some  fairly  good  agricultural  land, 
yet  on  the  whole  the  climate  is  considered  too  cold  for 
successful  agriculture.  In  the  former  Territory  of 
Keewatin,  which  has  had  to  bear  a  very  bad  reputation, 
it  has  been  ascertained  that  there  are  over  6,000,000 
acres  adapted  to  agriculture.  Wheat  has  been  grown 
successfully  as  far  north  as  Norway  House,  about  53° 
20'  North  lat.  As  to  the  vast  region  north  of  the  Saskat- 
chewan Valley  and  west  of  former  Keewatin,  which  may 
be  described  somewhat  broadly  as  the  Great  Mackenzie 
Basin,  thoroughly  authentic  and  well  substantiated 
evidence  shows  that  this  section  is  much  more  valuable 
*  Manitoba  and  the  Great  North  West,  1883. 


232  THE     COMING     CANADA 

agriculturally  than  was  supposed.  It  is  capable  of  sus- 
taining a  large,  prosperous,  and  permanent  population. 
As  yet  the  settlements  in  this  distant  region  are  insignif- 
icant in  number  and  ridiculously  disproportionate  to 
the  area  of  the  Basin;  nevertheless  they  are  of  impor- 
tance as  indicating  practically  and  unquestionably  the 
great  possibilities  of  this  region  as  an  agricultural  and 
industrial  community. 

These  known  conditions  emphasise  the  necessity  for 
technical  investigation  and  of  surveying  such  areas  as 
are  likely  to  attract  the  stream  of  settlers  who  are 
bound  to  go  there  soon.  According  to  one  witness,  who 
had  had  exceptional  opportunities  for  famiharising  him- 
self with  the  country  and  its  resources,  there  is,  in  the 
Peace  River  Valley,  as  much  good  agricultural  land 
suited  to  the  settler's  needs  and  not  yet  occupied,  as 
there  has  been  taken  up  by  homesteaders  and  purchasers 
in  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta  Provinces. 
Mr.  W.  F.  Bredin,  who  was  examined  before  a  Senate 
committee,  resides  near  Lesser  Slave  Lake.  After  a 
careful  computation,  he  estimated  the  area  of  agri- 
cultural lands  available  in  Mackenzie  territory  and  in 
northern  Alberta  (not  yet  surveyed  and  thrown  open 
to  settlement),  say  north  of  the  55th  parallel  of  lati- 
tude, at  not  less  than  100,000,000  acres.*  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  Arctic  Circle  is  66°  31!'  North 
Latitude,  or  691!  geographical  miles  north  of  55°,  and 
it  has  already  been  stated,  in  a  previous  chapter  of  this 

*  See  Canada's  Fertile  Northland.  Evidence  heard  before  a  select 
Committee  of  the  Senate  of  Canada  during  the  Parliamentary  Session 
of  1906-7,  and  the  Report  based  thereon.  Edited  by  Capt.  Ernest 
J.  Chambers,  Gentleman  Usher  of  the  Black  Rod. 


THE     CANADIAN    WHEAT     FIELDS      233 

book,  that  much  farther  north  than  that  parallel,  wheat 
has  been  successfully  grown. 

What  a  contrast  do  the  methods  employed  by  the 
newly  arrived  settler  present  to  those  which  the  estab- 
lished husbandman  follows!  In  a  former  chapter  it 
was  shown  how  generously  the  Dominion  Government 
permits  a  widow,  having  minor  children  dependant 
upon  her,  to  take  up  a  homestead.  This  is  a  verbal 
picture  of  one  such  mother  going  to  work  to  secure  a 
home  for  her  flock:  *'As  day  breaks  we  catch  a  glimpse 
of  a  sunbonneted  mother  and  her  three  Httle  kiddies. 
An  ox  is  their  rude  coadjutor,  and  through  the  flower- 
sod  they  cut  their  first  furrow.  It  is  the  beginning  of 
a  new  home."  But  almost  better  yet  is  it  to  think  of 
the  crowded  cities  of  the  Old  World;  and  may  we  not 
say  of  the  New  World  too?  In  both  there  are  so  many 
prematurely  old  men  and  women;  so  many  anaemic 
children;  such  sweltering,  fetid  slums!  '^Surely  in 
bringing  the  workless  man  of  the  Old  World  to  the  man- 
less  work  of  the  New,  the  Canadian  Government  and 
the  transportation  companies  are  doing  a  part  of  God's 
work." 

Now  to  carry  out  the  contrast.  It  sounds  a  little 
Miinchhausen-like  to  say  that  on  some  of  the  great 
estates,  the  gang-ploughs,  drawn  by  a  dozen  horses, 
deploy  off  en  echelon  after  breakfast  and  make  but  one 
furrow  out  and  another  back  in  the  forenoon,  getting 
home  in  time  for  dinner,  and  another  pair  of  furrows  in 
the  afternoon;  yet  the  exaggeration  gives  an  idea  of 
what  is  the  size  of  some  of  the  great  Canadian  wheat 
fields.    But  in  all  parts  of  the  three  great  grain  prov- 


234  THE     COMING     CANADA 

inces,  steam  is  largely  replacing  animal  power,  not  only 
in  ploughing  but  for  reaping  and  harvesting.  The 
usual  way  of  handling  this  motive  power,  is  for  two 
traction  engines  to  pass  along  parallel  borders  of  the 
tract  to  be  treated,  and  to  haul,  by  long  steel  ropes,  the 
great  gang-plough  back  and  forth,  or  the  harvester,  or 
the  combination  reaper,  thresher,  and  binder.  When  a 
grain  field  is  a  mile  square  (and  there  are  plenty  which 
are  much  larger  than  that),  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the 
apparent  expense  of  such  methods  is  quickly  offset  by 
the  economy  of  time  and  manual  labour.  Further- 
more, the  work  is  better  done! 

The  province  of  Saskatchewan  was  either  untilled 
prairie  or  unbroken  wilderness  only  a  few  years  ago;  but 
thousands  of  industrious  immigrants  have  transformed 
great  tracts  into  fruitful  farms  which  are  principally 
devoted  to  wheat.  In  harvest  time  it  is  an  exhila- 
rating sight  to  look  at  the  machines  passing  through 
the  great  fields,  in  which  the  wheat  ears  stand  up  to 
the  horses'  shoulders.  Not  only  in  Saskatchewan,  but 
in  Manitoba  and  Alberta,  of  course,  are  such  scenes 
common. 

Forty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  is  not  too  high  an 
average  to  put  upon  the  crop  of  Canada's  wheat  fields; 
that  is,  in  the  west  and  northwest.  After  all  expenses 
have  been  met  and  the  grain  delivered  at  the  ''elevator," 
when  it  is  paid  for  and  the  farmer  receives  the  reward 
for  his  toil,  there  will  be  from  $15  to  $17.50  per  acre 
for  him.  I  should  not  like  to  say  how  many  cases  in 
the  western  provinces  are  similar  to  this  one,  I  know 
there  are  many:    one  man,  the  fortunate  possessor  of 


^~ 


THE     CANADIAN     WHEAT     FIELDS      235 

some  ready  money,  secured  a  farm  of  640  acres  at  a 
cost  of  $5,000.  In  three  years'  time  he  had  cut  from  it 
sufficient  wheat  to  repay  him  in  full;  and  all  the  while 
it  gave  him  and  his  family  a  most  comfortable  hving, 
besides  leaving  a  surplus  which  enabled  him  to  buy 
adjoining  land.  It  is  not  surprising  that  land  in  the 
southern  half  of  those  three  grain  provinces  is  so  valu- 
able that  it  rarely  changes  owners,  and  that  already  the 
quarter  sections  available  for  homestead  entry  are  scarce 
indeed. 

Someone  has  said  that  the  distinguishing  mark  of  an 
EngHsh  city  is  the  consecration  of  a  Bishop  of  the 
Church  of  England.  I  do  not  believe  I  should  dare 
to  make  a  guess  as  to  what  distinguishes  the  American 
city;  and  as  for  the  town  in  either  country,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  say  just  what  is  the  trademark.  But  in  the 
wheat  field  regions  of  the  Dominion,  after  the  railway 
company  has  knocked  together  the  Httle  shanty,  which 
at  first  does  duty  as  a  station,  and  built  the  long  plat- 
form for  the  accommodation  of  —  no,  not  passengers 
at  all,  my  readers  —  but  the  freight  cars  that  are  to 
be  loaded  with  sacks  of  grain;  the  next  thing  to  appear 
is  the  red  grain-elevator.  It  will  usually  precede  the 
canvas  hotel;  there  is  rarely  a  store  until  some  time  after 
the  elevator  has  been  in  commission;  and,  best  of  all, 
the  gin-palace  that  may  be  looked  for  with  entire  confi- 
dence in  an  American  frontier  settlement  as  the  next 
human  sign  after  the  railway  station,  is  not  seen  in 
Canada  until  the  place  has  attained  some  size  and  the 
populace  persuades  the  county  officials  to  grant  —  what 
is  not  easy  to  get  —  a  license. 


236  THE     COMING     CANADA 

If  the  traveller  is  so  fortunate  as  to  pass  through  these 
great  Canadian  wheat  fields  when  the  grain  is  in  full 
head  and  coming  to  richest  maturity,  because  of  the 
long,  bright,  sunny  days  and  cool  nights  (that  meteoro- 
logical combination  which  is  ideal  for  ripening  and 
mellowing),  it  will  be  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  the 
sturdy  grain  stretching  away  to  right  or  left  from  the 
railway's  right-of-way  until  its  farther  limit  seems  to 
blend  with  the  horizon,  and  apparently  not  coming  to 
an  end  even  then. 

A  few  words  should  be  said  about  a  grain  crop  in  these 
prairie  provinces  which  has  already  attained  great 
volume  and  is  certain  to  be  of  even  more  value  to  the 
farmers  than  it  now  is.  It  is  barley  which,  as  a  crop, 
cannot  be  over-estimated  in  its  economic  values  when 
writing  of  this  section;  for  in  spite  of  the  increasing 
employment  of  steam,  the  growing  number  of  motor- 
cars, and  the  other  apparent  causes  for  the  passing  of 
the  horse,  that  animal  is  increasing  in  numbers  and  barley 
is  considered  as  being  as  good  food  for  the  horse  as  oats. 

The  successful  cultivation  of  wheat  may  be  problemat- 
ical in  some  parts  of  that  northern  belt  which  experts 
have  agreed  is  the  probable  limit  of  this  crop  economi- 
cally; but  in  that  same  section  and  even  farther  north 
there  is  no  doubt  about  barley  being  a  profitable  crop. 
It  is  essentially  a  northern  grain,  and  in  the  far  North 
West  it  attains  its  highest  development.  It  ripens,  as 
a  rule,  fifteen  days  earHer  than  wheat  and  resists  the 
frosts  of  early  autumn  better.  In  the  Peace  River 
Valley,  and  even  farther  north,  barley  weighs  nearly,  or 
quite,  sixty  pounds  to  the  bushel  (the  maximum  weight 


THE     CANADIAN     WHEAT     FIELDS      237 

of  barley,  given  in  Haswell  table,  is  fifty  lbs.  per  bushel 
for  California  grain),  and  it  is  so  plump  and  firm 
that  it  is  attractive  to  everyone.  Brewers  have  said 
that  barley  from  Manitoba  is,  for  malting  purposes, 
fully  equal  to  that  from  any  other  part  of  the  world, 
and  if  this  is  true  of  the  Manitoba  barley,  it  must  surely 
apply  to  that  which  comes  from  still  farther  north. 

Experts  say  that  barley  in  the  United  States  is  ripened 
by  the  great  heat  of  the  sun  before  it  has  reached  full 
maturity,  and  therefore  the  grain  is  somewhat  shrivelled. 
This  objection  cannot  be  raised  against  barley  from 
North  Western  Canada,  because  there  the  sun's  heat 
during  the  long  bright  days  and  the  short  cool  nights 
operate  to  bring  the  grain  to  fullest  development  and 
yet  cause  it  to  ripen  slowly. 

The  valley  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  was  thus 
described  in  1874:  ''Of  the  alluvial  prairie  of  the  Red 
River,  much  has  already  been  said,  and  the  uniform 
fertility  of  the  soil  cannot  be  exaggerated.  The  surface 
for  a  depth  of  from  two  to  four  feet  is  dark  mould  com- 
posed of  the  same  material  as  the  substratum,  but 
mingled  with  much  vegetable  matter.  When  the  sod 
has  rotted,  the  soil  appears  as  a  light,  friable  mould, 
easily  worked  and  most  favourable  for  agriculture.  The 
marly  alluvium  underlying  the  vegetable  mould  would 
in  most  countries  be  considered  a  soil  of  the  best  quality, 
and  the  fertility  of  the  ground  may  therefore  be  con- 
sidered as  practically  inexhaustible." 

With  reasonable  allowances  for  local  conditions,  this 
description  may  be  appplied  to  most  of  the  hundreds 
of  million  acres  of  the  arable  soil  in  Canada's  Fertile 


238  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Northland.  But  that  same  characteristic  of  seeming 
inexhaustibleness  was  likewise  attributed  to  California 
wheat  fields,  to  Virginia  tobacco  lands,  and  to  other 
agricultural  regions,  not  only  in  America  but  in  other 
parts  of  this  Earth  as  well.  Yet  carelessness  in  culti- 
vating, disregard  of  rotation,  constantly  taking  away 
and  never  restoring,  neglect  to  let  the  fields  lie  fallow, 
have  proved  disastrous  elsewhere;  and  the  same  mis- 
fortune must  follow  even  in  the  fertile  North  West  of 
Canada,  if  the  same  course  is  followed. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
A   MODEL  PROVINCE:    MANITOBA 

THE  first  permanent  white  settlement  in  the  district 
which  is  now  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  was  the 
Selkirk  Colony  which  was  founded  by  immigrants  from 
Europe;  most  of  them  being  Scotchmen.  It  was  located 
on  both  banks  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  a  short 
distance  below  the  centre  of  the  present  city  of  Winnipeg, 
and  at  that  time,  1812,  was  called  Fort  Garry.  Many 
lineal  descendants  of  those  first  Selkirk  settlers  still 
live  on  the  homesteads  which  their  ancestors  acquired 
a  century  ago;  but  their  comfortable  dwellings  and  the 
spacious  appointments  of  their  households  are  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  conditions  under  which  the  Earl  of 
Selkirk's  immigrants  at  first  struggled. 

I  do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  nearly  eighty  years 
before  Lord  Selkirk  commenced  his  colonising  efforts, 
Pierre-Gauthier  de  Varennes,  Sieur  de  la  Verendrye, 
had  made  his  way  northward  and  westward  from  Lake 
Superior,  reaching  Lake  Winnipeg  in  1733.  One  year 
later  he  built  a  fort  near  the  site  of  the  present  Fort 
Alexander,  which  is  just  up  from  the  mouth  of  Winnipeg 
River,  that  empties  into  Travers  Bay,  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  lake.  Four  years  later,  October,  1738, 
Verendrye  established  another  trading  post,  which  he 


240  THE     COMING     CANADA 

called  Fort  Raye,  at  the  junction  of  the  Red  and  Assini- 
boine  rivers,  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Winnipeg. 

After  the  transfer  of  proprietorship  from  French  to 
British  hands,  1763,  this  nearer  region  of  the  west  rapidly 
developed  as  a  fur-trading  centre,  and  it  was  there  that 
the  rivalry  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  North 
West  companies  was  probably  as  keen  as  in  any  part 
of  British  America.  There  were  a  very  few  traders, 
both  French  and  British,  the  latter  mostly  Scotchmen, 
in  the  region.  Gradually,  however,  other  immigrants 
who  were  satisfied  to  make  their  living  by  farming  came 
into  the  Red  River  region.  These  men  frequently  took 
Indian  girls  as  their  wives  (the  word  is  used  somewhat 
euphemistically)  and  from  these  unions  sprang  a  race 
of  Metis,  or  half-breeds. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  been  very  gentle 
in  its  treatment  of  all  people  within  its  jurisdiction, 
whether  European,  Indians,  or  half-castes;  but  when  its 
rule  was  supplanted  by  that  of  the  Canadian  officials, 
the  zeal  of  these  last  led  them  to  act  somewhat  hastily, 
causing  eventually  a  revolt  of  the  Metis  under  the 
leadership  of  one  of  their  number,  Louis  Riel.  The 
*'Riel  Rebellion,"  as  it  is  called,  had  much  influence 
upon  the  early  history  of  Manitoba  (and  it  contributed 
not  a  Httle  towards  strengthening  the  bonds  of  the 
then  newly  founded  Dominion).  It  would  be  interest- 
ing to  consider  the  rebellion  fully  here,  but  space  for- 
bids;  yet  I  recommend  my  readers  to  look  it  up. 

Through  its  resident  agent  at  Fort  Garry,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  continued  to  exercise  control  over  the 
Selkirk  colony  (as  well  as  over  all  its  vast  possessions) 


d 


A    MODEL    province:      MANITOBA      241 

until  1870,  when  the  whole  northern  and  western  parts 
of  British  North  America,  excepting  British  Columbia 
which  had  already  attained  the  dignity  of  being  an 
independent  colony,  came  under  the  control  of  the 
Dominion  Government.  The  colony  (Manitoba)  was 
then  known  as  Assiniboia  (a  name  which  was  subse- 
quently applied,  for  a  short  time,  to  part  of  the  country 
immediately  west) . 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  received  a  million  and 
a  half  dollars  for  its  landed  rights;  but  it  stipulated  for 
two  sections  (one  mile  square  each,  i.e.,  640  acres)  in 
each  of  the  six-mile  square  townships  which  were  to  be 
surveyed  and  set  off  in  thirty-six  sections  as  the  basis 
of  title  for  private  ownership  in  the  future.  It  was  also 
given  small  tracts  at  each  of  its  trading-posts.  Thus, 
in  addition  to  its  liberal  money  indemnity,  the  Company 
retains,  in  the  enormous  territory  over  which  it  was 
permitted  by  the  terms  of  an  elastic  charter  to  exercise 
proprietory  rights,  about  one-fifteenth  of  the  land  all 
told,  and  much  of  Manitoba  is  in  this  chain  of  title. 

When  Manitoba  was  made  a  Province  in  1870,  and 
became  a  political  unit  of  the  Dominion,  its  area  was 
much  smaller  than  it  now  is.  Indeed,  the  boundaries 
have  been  changed  several  times  in  these  forty-three 
years.  At  present  they  are:  on  the  south,  the  49th 
parallel  of  N.  lat.,  which  divides  Manitoba  from  Minne- 
sota and  North  Dakota;  on  the  west,  the  meridian  of 
ioi°2o'  W.  northward  to  the  60th  parallel  of  lat.;  on 
the  north,  that  60th  parallel  to  Hudson  Bay,  the  shore 
of  which  is  followed  southeasterly  until  the  northwestern 
boundary  of  Ontario  Province  is  reached,  at  a  point 


242 


THE     COMING     CANADA 


which  is  about  56°  40'  N.  and  89°  W.  The  line  then 
goes  southwest  to  the  meridian  of  95°  12'  W.,  and  thence 
the  eastern  boundary  goes  due  south  to  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods,  and  the  United  States. 

This  very  great  expansion,  whereby  the  area  of  the 
Province  is  nearly  quadrupled,  was  made  by  the  Domin- 
ion Government  in  191 1,  and  has  not  yet  appeared  on 
the  general  maps.  The  area  of  the  Province,  before  the 
expansion,  was  74,000  square  miles;  about  one-fifth 
was  water;  what  it  is  now  has  not  yet  been  accurately 
determined,  but  it  must  be  considerably  over  one- 
quarter  of  a  milHon  square  miles. 

^'The  name  Manitoba  sprang  from  the  union  of  two 
Indian  words,  Manito,  Hhe  Great  Spirit,'  and  Waba, 
*  the  Narrows '  of  the  lake  which  may  readily  be  seen  on 
the  map.  The  well  known  strait  was  a  sacred  place 
to  the  Crees  and  Saulteaus  who,  impressed  by  the 
weird  sounds  made  by  the  wind  as  it  rushed  through 
the  narrows,  as  superstitious  children  of  the  prairie, 
called  them  Manito-Waba,  or  'The  Great  Spirit's  Nar- 
rows.' The  name,  arising  from  this  unusual  sound,  has 
been  by  metonymy  translated  into  'God's  Voice.' 
The  word  was  afterwards  contracted  into  its  present 
form."  * 

The  general  physical  character  of  the  Province  is 
that  of  a  level  plain  sloping  gently  towards  the  north. 
The  whole  district,  of  which  Manitoba  forms  but  a 
part,  was  evidently  at  one  time  a  vast  lake  basin.  The 
present  rich  soils,  which  are  such  an  important  factor 
in  the  economics  and  wealth  of  Manitoba,  were  derived 

*  Enc.  Brit.,  nth  ed. 


A  MODEL  province:   MANITOBA   243 

from  the  silts  deposited  during  that  long  period  of  time 
when  even  what  is  now  dry  land  was  under  water. 
Apparently  somewhat  incongruous  as  it  sounds,  yet  there 
is  undoubtedly  much  logic  in  the  statement  that  the 
cause  of  the  poor  water  and  alkaline  soil  in  numerous 
locahties  can  be  traced,  in  every  instance,  to  the  exceed- 
ing richness  of  the  soil;  and  so  long  as  it  retains  its  salts, 
so  long  will  it  be  noted  for  fertility. 

It  is  amusing  to  recall  the  fact  that  less  than  a  score 
of  years  ago,  there  met  in  the  city  of  Chicago  a  com- 
mittee of  wheat  growers  who  gravely,  but  no  doubt 
honestly,  recorded  their  opinion  that  ''Our  Northern 
tier  of  States  is  too  far  north  to  grow  wheat  successfully," 
and  yet  they  spoke  from  experience.  Now,  about  a 
decade  before  that  Committee  put  itself  on  record,  a 
competent  observer  had  expressed  his  opinion  of  the 
Red  River  of  the  North  Valley  thus:  "Take  one-half 
of  the  entire  area,  or  3,400  square  miles,  equaUing 
2,176,000  acres,  and  for  simplicity  of  calculation,  let  it 
be  supposed  to  be  sown  entirely  in  wheat.  Then,  at 
the  rate  of  seventeen  bushels  per  acre,  which,  according 
to  Prof.  Thomas,  is  the  average  yield  for  Minnesota  — 
the  crop  of  the  Red  River  Valley  would  amount  to 
40,992,000  bushels."  But  the  experience  of  twenty 
years  and  longer  has  proved  that  when  intelHgence  is 
combined  with  energy  in  cultivating  this  land,  the 
average  crop  of  wheat  runs  higher  than  seventeen 
bushels  to  the  acre;  and  what  is  more  important,  the 
northern  limit  of  wheat  cultivation  has  been  pushed  so 
much  farther  north  that  the  conclusion  of  the  committee, 
to  which  reference  has  just  been  made,  seems  almost 


244  THE     COMING     CANADA 

laughable.  Mrs.  Cameron  *  says:  *'For  years  Winnipeg 
was  considered  the  northern  limit  of  wheat-growth,  the 
Arctic  Circle  of  endeavour.  Then  the  line  of  Kmitation 
was  pushed  farther  back  until  it  is  Edmonton-on-the- 
Saskatchewan  that  is  declared '  Farthest  North. '  To-day 
we  are  embarking  on  a  journey  which  is  to  reach  two 
thousand  miles  due  north  of  Edmonton." 

Impossible  is  an  elusive  word  when  we  wish  to  Hmit 
man's  potentialities  in  some  directions,  even  if  he  is  a 
miserably  weak  creature  with  but  a  brief  span  of  life; 
and  this  province  of  Manitoba  stands  out  conspicuously 
as  a  monument  to  what  man's  determination,  when 
pushed  along  the  line  of  little  (not  least)  resistance,  can 
accomplish.  A  Winnipeg  policeman  gave  a  pithy  and 
characteristically  witty  definition  of  that  success  when 
he  answered  an  Englishman's  drawled  out  question: 
^'What  makes  Winnipeg?"  The  visitor's  astonishment 
at  the  size  and  activity  of  the  "city  in  the  wilderness" 
could  not  be  suppressed,  although  he  had  tried  hard  to 
do  so.  Bobby  looked  at  his  interlocutor  with  a  quizzical 
smile,  stooped  to  scrape  a  lump  of  mud  from  his  boot- 
heel,  and  replied:  ''This  is  the  sordid  dhross  and  filthy 
lucre  that  kapes  our  nineteen  chartered  banks  and  their 
wan-and-twinty  suburbhan  branches  going!  Just  be- 
yant  is  wan  hundred  million  acres  of  it;  and  the  dhirty 
shtuff  grows  forty  bushels  of  whate  to  the  acre.  Don't 
be  Hke  the  remittance  man  from  England,  son,"  with 
another  quizzing  look  at  the  checked  suit  of  his  ques- 
tioner; "shure  they  turn  up  the  bottom  of  their  throwsies 
so  high  that  divil  a  bit  of  the  dhross  sticks  to  them 

♦  Op.  cit. 


A  MODEL  province:   MANITOBA   245 

anywhere!"  I  may  explain  that  a  ''remittance  man" 
is  usually  a  younger  son  who  has  been  shipped  away 
from  England  to  get  him  out  of  bad  company.  He  is 
provided  with  sufficient  money  just  to  clothe  and  feed 
him;  and  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  never  amount 
to  anything.  Manitoba  owes  no  part  of  her  importance 
to  the  ''remittance  man." 

The  staunch  Canadian  does  not  adopt  the  Encyclo- 
paedia's phraseology  when  discussing  Manitoba  and  call 
it  one  of  the  western  provinces  of  the  Dominion.  He 
speaks  of  it  as  the  middle  one  or  the  middle  western 
one,  or  "The  Model  Province."  When  it  was  admitted 
into  the  Dominion  in  1870,  it  was  the  fifth  province  in 
numerical  order.  It  then  had  an  area  of  only  13,500 
square  miles,  and  extended  just  far  enough  northward 
from  the  International  Boundary  to  take  in  the  southern- 
most bights  of  lakes  Winnipeg  and  Manitoba;  its  popu- 
lation was  then  but  about  12,000,  and  nearly  all  of  them 
were  Indians  or  Metis.  There  must  now  be  well  on 
towards  half  a  million  inhabitants  (quite  likely  more, 
since  the  increase  in  size),  and  the  Indian  element  has 
so  shrunk  in  ratio  that  it  is  almost  negligible. 

The  government  of  the  province  is  administered  by  a 
Lieutenant-Governor,  who  is  appointed  by  the  Governor- 
General  for  a  term  of  five  years.  With  the  lieutenant- 
governor  is  associated  an  executive  council  of  six 
members,  selected  by  himself  with  the  approval  of  the 
Ottawa  Government,  who  are  responsible  to  the  local 
legislature.  This  is  a  single  body  chosen  by  the  franchise 
holders,  and  at  present  consisting  of  forty- two  members; 
but  this  number  will  doubtless  be  increased  in  order  to 


246  THE     COMING     CANADA 

permit  of  representation  from  the  great  territory  which 
has  been  added.  Manitoba  sends  four  members  to 
the  Dominion  Senate  and  ten  representatives  to  the 
Dominion  House  of  Commons.  What  provision  will 
be  made  for  readjusting  the  provincial  representation 
in  the  Dominion  Parliament,  now  that  the  areas  of 
Quebec,  Ontario,  and  Manitoba  have  been  so  greatly 
increased,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  at  this  moment. 

The  province's  position,  both  socially  and  pohtically, 
is  almost  unique.  Because  of  the  astonishing  mixture 
of  nationalities  which  the  population  indicates  and  the 
consequent  differences  of  religious  belief,  either  intense 
or  mild,  there  have  been  frequent  explosions  which  have 
had  wide-reaching  influence.  Furthermore,  because  of 
the  geographical  position,  making  the  province  truly 
the  gateway  to  the  great  west,  there  have  been  many 
political  agitations  which  have  made  the  district  a  veri- 
table storm  centre.  Added  to  these  facts  is  the  further 
one  that  the  phenomenal  progress  during  the  last  decade 
or  so  has  raised  up  many  important  local  economic 
disputes  which  have  yet  to  be  solved  —  education, 
municipal  ownership,  further  railway  and  waterway 
expansion  are  some  of  these. 

The  development  of  Manitoba,  region  and  province, 
from  the  very  beginning  of  British  administration  was 
rapid;  but  as  soon  as  the  building  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  was  assured,  progress  in  every  aspect 
became  so  phenomenal  as  to  make  conservative  people 
gasp.  The  Fort  Garry  of  less  than  half  a  century  ago 
has  been  transformed  into  the  City  of  Winnipeg  with  a 
population  of  over  100,000,  which  presents  in  its  streets, 


A  MODEL  province:   MANITOBA   247 

buildings,  municipal  facilities,  industries  of  every  kind, 
railways  —  for  the  city  is  now  a  division  headquarters 
for  the  three  great  transcontinental  systems  discussed 
in  a  previous  chapter  —  and  in  fact  every  essential,  all 
the  aspects  of  a  city  which  is,  and  is  recognised  as,  an 
important  economic  centre. 

This  importance  of  the  capital  is  reflected  in  many 
ways  throughout  the  entire  province,  only  two  of  which 
I  shall  mention.  Since  grain,  and  especially  wheat,  is 
the  foundation  of  the  province's  prosperity,  we  find 
innumerable  elevators  and  flouring-mills  in  all  parts; 
even  the  smallest  town  is,  in  its  way,  a  miniature  Win- 
nipeg. The  local  branches  and  agencies  of  the  char- 
tered banks  are  so  numerous  in  the  smaller  places 
that  they  indicate  somewhat  of  the  volume  of  busi- 
ness. An  illuminating  evidence  of  Manitoba's  mate- 
rial development  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  in 
1906  a  pamphlet  of  some  thirty  pages,  illustrated  with 
several  scores  of  plates,  was  issued  to  show  the  ^'Pub- 
lic Buildings  erected  and  improved  by  the  government 
of  Manitoba." 

A  few  of  the  widely  scattered  fur-trading  posts  of 
half  a  century  and  more  ago  have  been  developed  into 
towns  besides  the  provincial  capital.  Brandon  is 
approaching  the  25,000  mark.  Portage  la  Prairie 
and  St.  Boniface  will  soon  have  more  than  10,000  each; 
and  a  number  of  towns  along  the  railways,  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  and  the  Canadian  Northern  especially, 
are  growing  so  rapidly  that  statistics  cannot  be  penned. 
One  of  the  most  pleasing  evidences  of  the  well-being 
of  this  province,  is  the  fact  that  while  there  is  a  strong 


248  THE     COMING     CANADA 

liking  for  municipal  ownership  of  various  public  utilities, 
the  tax  rates  are  still  comparatively  low. 

I  do  not  wish  to  intimate  that  pleasing  hospitality  is 
not  a  conspicuous  trait  with  all  Canadians  —  my  own 
experiences  and  the  testimony  of  many  others  would 
contradict  any  such  imputation,  were  it  made.  But 
I  have  good  reason  for  saying  that  throughout  Manitoba, 
and  especially  at  Winnipeg,  the  stranger  who  brings 
letters  of  introduction  is  received  with  open  arms  and 
the  entertainment  ofifered  will  be  hearty  and  varied. 
Whatever  the  visitor's  particular  taste  may  be,  there 
will  be  found  plenty  of  ways  to  cater  to  it.  If  it  is 
outdoor  sport,  there  is  fishing,  shooting,  big  game  hunt- 
ing, coursing,  and  cross-country  riding,  at  the  proper 
season.  If  the  guest's  taste  inclines  towards  athletics, 
in  summer  there  are  cricket,  lacrosse,  golf,  baseball,  all 
the  games  that  appeal  to  the  younger;  but  cricket  in 
Canada,  as  in  Great  Britain  —  and  indeed  throughout 
the  British  Empire  —  is  not  at  all  monopoKsed  by  the 
youngsters.  One  often  sees  men  whose  years  are  counted 
by  the  three  score  or  more,  batting,  bowling,  and  field- 
ing with  the  best.  The  winter  sports  are  all  that  the 
Dominion  can  offer,  as  will  be  suggested  in  the  next 
chapter.  The  clubman  can  have  no  cause  to  com- 
plain of  lack  of  opportunity  at  Winnipeg.  The  scholar 
and  literary  man  will  be  sure  to  make  the  acquaintance 
of  congenial  spirits.  Those  who  like  to  sip  from  the 
cup  which  the  frivolous  forms  of  society  hold  forth,  are 
welcomed  and  may  dance  and  flirt  to  their  heart's  con- 
tent. In  fact,  Manitoba  is  a  surprise  and  a  delight 
in  every  way. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
CANADA   IN   WINTER 

IT  is,  I  think,  recognised  as  a  fact  that  if  the  stranger 
wishes  to  see  the  people  of  a  given  country  in  their 
true  social  environment,  he  must  visit  that  country 
during  the  season  in  which  the  leisure  or  semi-leisure 
classes,  *' society"  in  one  word,  give  themselves  up  to 
social  gatherings  and  festivities  which  are  either  im- 
possible or  unpopular  at  other  times.  This  rule,  if  it 
is  admitted  to  be  such  —  and  I  am  assuming  it,  at  any 
rate  —  applies  to  regions  of  the  globe  in  which  there 
are  marked  climatic  changes.  In  the  tropics,  there  is 
practically  no  such  change:  there  may  be  a  rainy  season 
alternating  with  a  dry  one.  During  the  former  the 
natives  may  or  may  not  be  active,  but  it  is  usually  not 
the  time  to  see  equatorial  regions  in  the  greatest  luxury 
of  their  vegetation,  when  fruits  are  ripe  and  the  people 
are  enjoying  the  good  gifts  which  bounteous  Nature 
lavishly  bestows  upon  them. 

I  know,  from  personal  experience,  that  the  most 
favourable  time  to  visit  the  semi-tropical  regions  is  mid- 
summer; while  to  study  the  life  of  those  people  in  Russia 
and  Canada  who  figure  in  society,  the  proper  season  is 
precisely  the  opposite  one;  in  other  words,  it  is  mid- 
winter. I  am  quite  aware  that  some  peoples  exactly 
reverse  this  order  of  procedure,  fl>ing  from  Russia,  when 


250  THE     COMING     CANADA 

the  first  hard  frost  and  snow  come,  to  the  soft,  balmy 
airs  of  the  Mediterranean  Rivieras,  and  seeking  winter 
sunshine  on  both  coasts  of  the  tideless  sea,  even  going 
well  into  Africa  in  their  quest.  I  know,  too,  that  some 
Canadians  and  New  Englanders  seek  reHef  from  the 
bitterness  of  winter  in  their  homelands,  by  going  to 
Florida,  California,  Mexico,  or  elsewhere.  But  it  needs 
no  declaration  from  me  to  show  that  these  quests  are 
entirely  subjective;  they  do  not  contemplate  mingling 
to  any  great  extent  in  the  life  of  the  peoples  amongst 
whom  the  seekers  are  to  sojourn  for  a  short  time  in  their 
selfish  desire  to  secure  personal  comfort.  Let  us  entirely 
leave  out  of  consideration  the  unfortunate  invalid  who 
must  try  to  escape  the  clinching,  shrivelling  chill  of 
winter  or  the  enervating  heat  of  summer. 

The  peoples  of  both  Canada  and  Russia  who  are  able, 
because  of  wealth  and  position,  to  make  society,  are  the 
very  ones  who  go  away  from  their  homes  during  the 
short  summer.  They  do  this  for  two  reasons:  first, 
because  in  that  brief  summer  the  heat  is  often  trying 
and  not  infrequently  the  physical  arrangement  of 
domiciles  makes  it  difficult  to  be  really  comfortable  at 
home;  second,  that  is  the  time  when  travelKng  is  least 
liable  to  the  interruptions  of  the  weather  which  the 
gales  and  snowstorms  of  winter  often  bring.  I  know 
that  many  of  my  countrymen  go  to  Canada  for  the 
summer  to  the  coolness,  comfort,  and  freedom  of  out- 
door life.  I  have  done  it  myself  several  times;  but  it 
is  not  the  right  time  to  see  any  of  the  Canadian  social 
centres  at  their  best. 

The  Dominion  capital,  Ottawa,  is  a  pleasant  place  in 


Ploughing  at  Fort  Smith,  6o°  N. 


Smith  Landi.ng,  Great  Slave  River,  6o°  N. 


CANADA     IN    WINTER  251 

summer;  the  days  are  warm  (sometimes  they  are  piping 
hot!)  and  one  can  go  abroad  unhesitatingly,  while  the 
nights  are  cool  enough  to  make  at  least  a  thin  blanket 
agreeable;  but  there  is  Httle  to  be  seen  of  the  official 
social  life.  Almost  surely  the  Governor- General  will 
be  absent;  for  at  that  season  —  when  Parliament  is 
in  recess  —  he  is  making  official  visits  to  the  provinces 
in  order  that  he  may  see  for  himself  —  not  how  the 
people  hve  and  move  and  have  their  being  —  but  how 
the  local  affairs  are  being  administered.  The  Depart- 
ment Chiefs  will  equally  surely  be  absent;  either  seek- 
ing relaxation  with  their  famihes  at  seacoast,  lakeside, 
or  river  resorts  or  in  Europe,  or  imitating  the  example 
set  by  their  official  head,  and  making  tours  of  inspection. 

The  society  leaders  beyond  the  charmed  circle  of 
department  life  follow  these  examples,  and  so  it  goes. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  capital  appHes,  in  a  general 
way,  to  the  other  cities:  even  the  mere  sightseer  will 
notice  that  in  summer  his  opportunities  to  see  the  people 
are  not  so  good  as  in  winter.  Is  it  Montreal,  the  com- 
mercial metropolis?  The  streets,  the  parks,  the  churches, 
the  resorts  seem  to  be  singularly  deserted.  Is  it  the 
picturesque,  quaint  Quebec?  There  is  a  marked  apathy 
to  be  noticed  in  and  about  the  citadel,  and  the  crowd 
on  DufTerin  Terrace  is  palpably  not  composed  of  resi- 
dents. If  there  is  a  semblance  of  gaiety  at  other  places, 
it  too  often  betrays  the  mark  of  ha\ing  been  arranged 
for  the  special  benefit  of  the  tourist,  who  is  expected  to 
pay  for  the  extra  effort :  there  is  none  of  the  spontaneity 
of  custom.  Is  it  the  active,  scholarly  Toronto?  The 
silence  which  overhangs  the  deserted  University  campus, 


252  THE     COMING     CANADA 

is  to  be  noticed  as  spreading  throughout  the  residential 
sections,  and  even  to  penetrate  into  other  parts  of  the 
city.  It  is  the  same  wherever  the  visitor  goes.  He  can 
see  the  country  and  the  natural  sights;  the  lakes,  rivers, 
waterfalls,  mountains  and  forests,  all  such  things  will 
be  attractive;  and  because  the  farmers  may  have  a 
little  leisure,  perhaps  the  visitor  will  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  meeting  some  of  them,  and  they  are  always 
interesting. 

But  there  is  another  phase  of  social  life  which  asserts 
itself  only  in  winter;  this  life  does  not  appear  in  its 
fullest  glory  until  the  snow  has  come  in  quantity  suffi- 
cient to  make  the  roads  fitted  for  the  sleighs  and  the 
hills  ready  for  the  toboggans.  Then  the  bustle  and 
crowds  in  the  city  streets  and  along  the  suburban  roads 
are  most  exhilarating.  The  motor  car  is  put  out  of 
commission  save  when  the  street-cleaning  force  in  the 
larger  cities  has  swept  away  the  snow  and  such  locomo- 
tion is  again  possible.  The  horse  comes  once  again  to 
his  own,  and  it  really  seems  as  if  he  understands  his 
privileges  and  restored  importance.  From  the  dainty, 
saucy  cutter,  drawn  by  a  single  steed,  to  the  great  omni- 
bus-sleighs with  two  or  four  horses,  or  the  even  larger 
box-sleigh  piled  up  with  straw  and  buffalo-robes,  and 
filled  with  a  party  of  merry  youngsters  off  for  a  ''straw- 
ride,"  there  is  to  be  seen  somewhere  every  conceivable 
form  of  vehicle  that  can  be  put  upon  runners.  The 
princely  sledge  of  the  Court  nobles  in  Russia,  with  tall 
plumes  waving  from  the  sleigh  itself  and  from  the 
shoulders  of  the  three  horses,  driver  and  footman 
resplendent  in  Astrakan  and  bright  colours,  is  matched 


CANADA     IN     WINTER  253 

by  the  equipages  of  the  Canadian  official  and  aristocrat. 
The  liveries  are  as  effective,  even  if  widely  different 
in  character.  The  furs  of  the  occupants  of  the  sleighs 
are  as  luxurious  at  Ottawa  as  they  are  at  St.  Petersburg, 
and  the  gaiety  is  equal  in  every  way. 

Every  Canadian  city  asserts  itself  when  the  jollity 
of  winter  is  the  topic  of  conversation;  and  in  a  way 
each  is  right.  But  it  has  always  seemed  to  me  that 
Montreal's  claim  has  the  most  substantial  foundation. 
The  business  section  may  be  made  just  as  disagreeable 
and  quite  as  dirty  by  a  fall  of  snow,  as  any  place  one 
knows;  yet  Montreal  is  singularly  fortunate  in  having, 
almost  at  its  centre,  such  a  magnificent  winter  play- 
ground as  Mount  Royal.  The  drives  approaching  it 
and  all  round  its  sides  are  so  nicely  graded  that  when 
the  snow  is  properly  packed,  the  cutters,  family  sledges, 
box-sleighs,  and  all  vehicles  of  the  kind  go  spinning 
along  as  if  it  were  no  effort  at  all  for  the  horses  to  draw 
them.  Sometimes  a  reckless  or  incompetent  driver  lets 
his  horse  go  too  fast  along  a  downgrade  at  the  end  of 
which  is  a  sharp  curve:  then  there  is  a  spill,  but  inas- 
much as  the  snowbank  into  which  the  occupants  of 
the  sleigh  are  pitched  makes  a  soft  bed  upon  which  to 
fall,  these  mishaps  are  not  often  attended  with  serious 
consequence. 

The  lower  slopes  of  Mount  Royal,  in  all  directions, 
are  taken  possession  of  by  the  children,  who  are  con- 
tented with  mild  coasting;  but  the  more  adventurous 
youths  of  both  sexes  and  indeed  (ought  it  to  be  whis- 
pered?) many  grown  men  and  women  who  might  be 
supposed  to  have  reached  such  discretion  as  not  to  take 


254  THE     COMING     CANADA 

unnecessary  risks,  drag  their  toboggans  far  up  towards 
the  summit  of  the  mountain,  where  there  is  one  of  the 
best  sHdes  in  all  the  Dominion.  It  carries  the  toboggan 
down  the  southern  slope,  that  is  for  the  most  part  gentle; 
but  there  is  a  jump  or  two  which  make  the  novice  catch 
his  breath  as  the  sled  plunges  down.  Long  ago,  this 
slide  used  to  reach  far  out  upon  the  plain  stretching  off 
towards  the  river;  but  the  growth  of  the  city  and  the 
extension  of  tramway  lines  have  necessitated  restricting 
it  to  Mount  Royal  Park;  there  is  even  yet  enough  of  it 
to  give  the  rarest,  most  exciting  few  minutes. 

One  of  the  most  popular  and  exhilarating  winter  sports 
has  been  adopted  from  something  which  was  a  very 
stern  and  hard  necessity  to  traveller,  voyageur,  or  coureur 
des  hois  in  former  times.  I  mean  snowshoeing.  Every 
village  and  town  in  the  Dominion  seems  to  have  its 
snowshoe  club,  and  the  larger  cities  count  them  by  the 
scores.  There  are  more  than  twenty-five  in  Montreal 
and  its  immediate  suburbs.  Each  club  has  its  own 
distinguishing  uniform.  Most  of  us  know  what  it  is 
generally:  for  the  young  women  (because  the  club 
membership  is  rarely  restricted  to  one  sex)  there  is  the 
long,  Neapolitan,  knitted  cap  which  often  pulls  down 
quite  to  the  shoulders,  leaving  only  a  part  of  the  face 
visible;  a  thick,  warm  jersey;  a  jacket  made  from  a 
bright-coloured  blanket,  and  a  short,  warm  skirt.  The 
stockings,  usually  uniform  in  pattern  and  showing  the 
Club  colours,  must  be  thick  and  warm;  and  the  feet 
are  encased  in  moccasins,  because  a  stiff-soled  boot  is 
an  impossibility  for  comfortable  snowshoeing.  The 
men  are  pretty  much  the  same  in  appearance,  so  far  as 


CANADA     IN     WINTER  255 

head  and  body  go;  but  the  skirt  is  replaced  by  warm 
knickerbockers.  Stockings  and  moccasins  are  again 
similar.  Nowadays,  some  of  the  most  sensible  girls 
are  wearing  a  regular  bloomer  costume.  Snowshoeing 
is  a  most  delightful  winter  sport  and  frequently  the  club 
will  go  out  ten  or  fifteen  miles  in  the  afternoon,  sup  at 
some  jolly  little  country  hostelry  —  or  maybe  the  club 
will  "have  its  own  clubhouse  away  from  town  for  such 
rendezvous  —  and  come  back  in  the  dazzHng  moonlight 
or  beneath  the  twinkling  stars  and  the  Aurora  borealis 
of  a  Canadian  winter's  night,  with  which  nothing  in 
the  south  can  compare  in  brilliancy. 

Snowshoeing,  with  its  shuffling,  sliding  motion,  looks 
to  be  a  very  easy  tiling  to  do ;  but  let  none  of  my  readers 
jump  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  something  anybody 
can  do  without  half  trying;  although  that  is  precisely 
what  every  novice  does.  When  a  person  has  the  snow- 
shoes  tied  to  his  feet  for  the  first  time,  his  first  convic- 
tion is  that  the  wretched  things  are  insecurely  fastened, 
they  wobble  so  at  the  heels,  and  he  feels  sure  they  will 
come  off  at  the  first  movement.  When  assured  there  is 
no  danger  of  this,  he  next  proceeds  to  attempt  to  walk, 
gets  his  feet  hopelessly  tangled  up,  and  promptly  comes 
a  cropper,  while  the  experienced  onlookers  laugh  in 
pleasant  derision.  The  necessary  shuffle  is  one  of  the 
most  difficult  feats  to  accomplish  that  feet  ever  essayed. 
Once  mastered,  however,  there  are  few  motions  so 
delightfully  exhilarating,  and  the  speed  with  which  one 
can  move  over  the  snow,  particularly  when  it  is  Hghtly 
crusted  over,  is  astonishing.  I  have  known  plenty  of 
men  and  women  who  think  that  snowshoeing  is  better 


256  THE     COMING     CANADA 

sport  than  skating.  Certainly  it  possesses  the  great 
advantage  of  having  a  much  wider  horizon  than  the 
ordinary  river,  lake,  or  pond  gives  the  skater.  Ski-ing 
(pronounced  skee-ing,  see  dictionary)  is,  of  course,  first 
cousin  to  snowshoeing. 

Skating  is  so  universal  that  I  hardly  take  the  trouble 
to  mention  it.  Not  only  on  open  ponds  and  rivers  do 
the  crowds  gather  for  this  popular  sport,  but  there  are, 
in  the  cities  certainly,  covered  rinks  which  either  belong 
to  exclusive  clubs,  or  are  reserved  on  certain  afternoons 
and  evenings  by  a  club  for  its  members  only.  Of  course 
hockey  asserts  itself  when  skating  is  mentioned;  and 
other  sports  on  the  ice,  such  as  Curling,  are  suggested. 
It  is  presumptuous  for  an  American  to  describe  this 
game,  when  competent  Scots  have  exhausted  their  efforts 
to  laud  it,  both  in  prose  and  poetry.  Yet  since  many 
people  do  not  know  just  what  the  game  is,  I  give  a  brief 
description.  A  rink  is  42  yards  long  and  4  yards  wide. 
The  tees,  or  goals,  are  40  yards  apart.  The  stones  were 
originally  waterworn  boulders  or  granite  blocks  bored 
through  to  let  the  player's  thumb  get  a  grip.  These 
primitive  stones  are  now  replaced  by  beautifully  rounded, 
flattened,  and  highly  polished  ones  into  which  a  handle, 
turned  at  a  right  angle  to  the  diameter,  is  set.  A  stone 
may  not  be  more  than  50  pounds  in  weight;  the  circum- 
ference not  over  36  inches;  and  the  thickness  must  not 
be  less  than  one-eighth  the  greatest  circumference. 
These  stones,  for  each  player  must  be  supplied  with 
two,  cost,  including  handles,  from  $10  to  $25  a  pair.  The 
object  of  the  game  is  to  curl  or  slide  the  stone  from 
behind  and  to  the  side  of  one  tee  and  make  it  stop  as 


I 


CANADA     IN     WINTER  257 

near  as  possible  to  the  centre  of  a  six-inch  circle  at  the 
other  tee.  Stones  that  go  out  of  bounds  or  stop  short 
of  the  *' Hog-score,"  a  line  defining  the  limits  of  the  tee, 
are  ''dead,"  and  must  be  removed.  It  is  a  man's  game, 
and  a  strong  man  at  that.  Many  songs  have  been 
written  in  praise  of  it;  the  authors  contending  that  it 
is  a  promoter  of  mental  enjoyment,  bodily  health,  and 
the  best  of  good  fellowship.  Where  the  game  originated 
is  not  known;  but  it  is  associated  in  our  minds  with 
Scotland,  and  it  is  in  the  land  of  heather  that  it  is  most 
popular.  There  are  so  many  Scots  in  Canada  that  it 
is  not  surprising  to  find  hundreds  of  curling  clubs  in  the 
Dominion.  It  will  be  noticed  that  I  say  nothing  about 
the  ''Ice  Palace"  when  writing  of  Montreal  in  winter. 
The  omission  is  intentional.  The  beautiful  and  novel 
structure  of  crystal  ice,  reared  at  a  great  expense  on  the 
frozen  surface  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  was  never  a 
profitable  investment,  and  it  advertised  Canada  in  the 
wrong  way.  It  has  not  been  made  for  several  years  and 
I  think  will  not  be  again. 

If  the  visitor  wishes  to  see  the  St.  Lawrence  River  in 
the  perfection  of  its  winter  aspect,  he  will  go  to  Quebec, 
which  is  farther  north  than  Montreal,  and  where  the 
cold  is  steadier  and  lasts  longer.  The  ups  and  downs, 
the  ins  and  outs  of  the  town  lend  themselves  admirably 
to  picturesque  winter  effects;  but  they  also  add  to  the 
difficulties  of  getting  about  by  both  man  and  beast; 
how  the  horses  manage  to  negotiate  the  steep  and 
narrow  roadways  is  a  marvel.  Life  is  even  now  more 
primitive  in  Quebec  city  and  province  than  elsewhere; 
few  of  the  elegant  sleighs  of  the  political  or  commercial 


258  THE     COMING     CANADA 

capital  are  to  be  seen.  In  the  country  there  are  grand 
opportunities  for  enjoyment,  only  the  stranger  must 
be  able  to  speak  French  if  he  is  to  get  the  best  from  the 
habitants.  The  view  (from  Dufferin  Terrace)  over  the 
frozen  St.  Lawrence,  rigid  above  the  city,  broken  and 
churning  it  may  be  below,  is  a  rare  one. 

If  the  stranger  seeks  the  American  maxima  in  winter 
scenery  and  snow  effects,  and  has  time  and  means,  let 
him  take  a  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  train  and  go  well 
into  the  Rocky  Mountains  or  the  Selkirks.  He  need 
have  no  apprehension  as  to  physical  comforts.  The 
train  is  entirely  vestibuled  —  for  I  am  assuming  that 
the  tourist  travels  by  an  express  so  that  passing  from 
end  to  end  involves  no  exposure.  When  there  is  not  a 
dining-car  at  his  service,  the  train  will  halt  at  a  station 
where  there  is  one  of  the  Company's  hotels  or  restaurants 
which  serve  a  meal  to  satisfy  the  veriest  Lucullus.  If 
''Lucullus  does  not  sup  with  Lucullus,"  the  companion 
at  table  will  be  an  interesting  feature  of  a  remarkable 
journey.  Let  the  traveller  aHght,  to  stay  a  day  or  two, 
at  one  of  the  stations  near  the  snowsheds.  Here,  again, 
there  is  no  danger  that  physical  comfort  will  not  be 
admirably  cared  for,  even  if  the  accommodations  are 
not  quite  the  same  as  those  which  the  Chateau  Fron- 
tenac  or  the  Place  Viger  supply. 

Imagine,  then,  a  rather  steep  mountain  side  covered 
with  snow  so  deep  that  all  traces  of  the  great  snowsheds 
are  absolutely  obliterated,  the  smooth  white  surface 
spreading  downward  as  if  there  were  nothing  to  break 
the  contour,  save  the  bushes  and  small  trees  which  must 
be  pictured  in  fancy,  for  they  are  out  of  sight.     Remem- 


CANADA     IN    WINTER  259 

ber  that  these  snowsheds  are  built  of  heavy  timber, 
strong  enough  to  support  the  weight  of  this  mass  of 
snow  and  to  resist  the  impact  when  the  sliding  snow 
drives  down  in  a  tremendous  avalanche.  They  are  tall 
enough  and  sufficiently  wide  to  admit  the  largest  engine 
and  the  broadest  coach  or  freight  car,  and  yet  leave 
space  above  the  smokestack  to  let  sparks  fly  freely,  and 
for  all  ordinary  oscillation.  This  gives  an  idea  of  the 
size  of  these  structures;  and  thus  it  is  possible  to  con- 
ceive of  what  must  be  the  depth  of  snow  to  obhterate 
them  completely.  There  will  be  other  awe-inspiring 
snow  and  ice  effects  to  interest  the  visitor. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  for  the  young  and  active, 
and  for  the  old  who  are  vigorous  and  hearty,  the  Cana- 
dian winter  offers  plenty  of  opportunity  for  sport  and 
pastime  in  the  open.  I  imagine  that  many  of  my 
readers  will  recall  pleasing  demonstration  of  this  in 
books  and  magazine  stories  which  tell  of  Dominion 
life  in  that  season.  Why  Americans  should  go  to  the 
Tyrol  for  winter  sport,  I  cannot  imagine. 

But  there  is  another  phase  of  winter's  social  life  which 
appeals  with  almost  equal  force  to  old  and  young, 
although  of  course  each  class  looks  upon  interior  festivi- 
ties from  a  different  standpoint.  Winter  is  the  time 
when  most  Canadians  are  at  home.  I  know  there  are 
some  who  hke  to  get  just  as  far  away  as  possible  from 
the  searching,  marrow-curdling  cold;  but  these  are  the 
anaemic  or  sybaritish;  and  the  true  Canadian  does  not 
hesitate  to  sneer  at  them.  The  capital,  Ottawa,  shows 
many  forms  of  winter's  social  gaieties.  Around  the 
Governor-GeneraFs    home    gathers    the    exclusive    and 


26o  THE     COMING     CANADA 

official  set:  yet  the  democratic  spirit  has  so  pervaded 
this  circle,  that  it  includes  some  who  are  not  distinguished 
by  any  high-sounding  titles;  and  there  is  really  less  of 
snobbishness  about  it  than  was  conspicuous  at  the 
''White  House  Court"  within  recent  years.  Americans 
of  social  position  and  culture  are  made  most  welcome, 
and  I  cannot  imagine  any  more  delightful  winter  life 
than  Christmastide  at  Ottawa  offers. 

As  with  the  capital,  so  with  all  the  large  cities,  only 
there  is  lacking  in  each  that  special  glamour  which 
shines  from  delightful  Rideau  Hall.  There  is,  however, 
just  a  suggestion  of  that  semi- Court  Hfe  at  each  of  the 
Provincial  capitals,  provided  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
is  disposed  to  have  it  so.  The  residences  of  those  who 
make  any  pretence  to  social  life  are  all  well  provided 
with  heating-plants;  and  there  will  always  be  found 
that  almost  indispensable  accessory  to  aesthetic  comfort, 
the  open  fireplace  with  its  blazing  logs,  about  which 
hosts  and  guests  gather  when  the  function  is  of  smaller 
dimensions  than  a  ball  or  rout.  If  the  stranger  is  so 
fortunate  as  to  receive  an  invitation  from  a  British  or 
French  host  who  is  interested  in  the  history  or  folklore 
of  the  Dominion,  it  will  be  round  the  hearth  that  the 
past  will  be  made  to  live  itself  over  again.  I  know  that 
while  I  am  always  glad  to  go  to  Canada  at  any  season, 
it  is  upon  my  winter  visits  that  I  look  back  with  greatest 
pleasure  and  most  satisfaction. 


CHAPTER  XX 
SOME  CANADIAN   TOWNS 

THE  number  of  really  old  towns  in  the  Dominion 
is  not  very  great.  How  could  it  be,  when  we 
consider  the  methods  followed  by  the  French  in  their 
attempt  at  colonisation?  But  if  we  bear  in  mind  the 
measure  of  interest  that  hangs  round  the  half-dozen  or 
so  places  which  are  to  be  considered  in  this  chapter, 
there  is  material  enough  to  fill  a  dozen  volumes.  Of 
Quebec  alone  so  much  has  been  written  —  and  the 
subject  has  not  yet  been  exhausted  —  that  there  are 
books  enough  to  fill  a  small  bookcase.  There  is  a  period 
of  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  from  the  date  of 
Quebec's  birth,  1608,  until  —  I  am  not  going  to  say 
death  —  her  marriage  to  Great  Britain,  in  1763,  by  the 
old  custom  of  capture.  The  story  of  this  "  Great  Mother 
of  Canada"  is  alive  with  thrilling,  dramatic  incidents 
for  the  pen  of  historian,  the  verse  of  poet,  the  plot  of 
novehst.  Individual  impressions  of  to-day  seem  to  be 
but  tame  and  uninteresting,  when  we  have  at  our  dis- 
posal for  a  study  of  Quebec's  creation,  development, 
and  vicissitudes,  such  material  as  the  Relations  of  Jesuit 
Fathers,  who  were  pioneers  both  in  evangelisation  and 
in  discovery.  Of  Francis  Parkman's  books,  although 
some  of  his  statements  are  criticised  adversely  and  his 
conclusions  disputed,  it  is  but  truth  to  say  that  they 


262  THE     COMING    CANADA 

did  for  Canada  as  much  as  Prescott's  volumes  did  for 
Mexico.  I  mention  only  a  few  more  writers  who  have 
gleaned  from  earlier  ones,  yet  added  picturesque  touches 
of  their  own:  William  Kingsford,  Sir  James  Macpherson 
Le  Moine,  Dr.  A.  G.  Doughty,  Sir  Gilbert  Parker.* 
Beyond  this  I  dare  not  go,  for  a  complete  bibhography 
of  Quebec  alone  would  cover  pages.  Many  important 
names  are  omitted,  not  from  lack  of  appreciation  or 
willingness  to  comment,  but  because  of  the  limitations 
of  space.  The  narrative  of  the  five  sieges  that  the  old 
town  has  sustained  —  1629,  1690,  1759,  1760,  1775  — 
would  fill  several  volumes;  and  that  of  probably  the 
most  famous  of  all,  the  great  Battle  of  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  when  both  victorious  and  vanquished  leaders 
lost  their  Hves,  is  so  overflowing  with  interest,  event, 
tragedy,  victory,  discomfiture,  that  it  has  served  as  the 
subject  for  a  whole  volume  unto  itself.  Still,  is  it  not 
correct  to  say  that  never  yet  has  the  fortress  of  Quebec 
succumbed  to  actual  capture  by  assault? 

If  Quebec  no  longer  alone  guards  the  gateway  to 
Canada,  it  is  because  the  developments  of  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century  have  opened  to  the  visitor  other  means  of 
ingress  than  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River;  but  if  that 
stream  is  ''the  fife  of  Canada,"  as  it  has  been  aptly 
called,  it  is  at  Quebec  the  pulse  still  beats;  and  there 
need  be  little  regret  on  the  part  of  her  citizens  as  they 
see  the  trans-Atlantic  steamers  pass  on  their  way  to 
or  from  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  Dominion, 
Montreal. 

If  the  birth  of  Quebec  was  in  the  year  1608,  the  con- 

*  For  titles  of  their  books,  see  bibliography  at  end  of  this  volume. 


SOME    CANADIAN    TOWNS  263 

ception  may  be  said  to  have  taken  place  more  than  half 
a  century  before,  when,  in  1535,  Jacques  Cartier  wintered 
at  Stadacona.  That  was  an  event  of  great  importance 
for  the  future  of  Canada.  It  takes  us  back  to  a  date 
only  forty-three  years  after  Columbus'  first  memorable 
voyage.  It  antedates  by  seventy-two  years  the  found- 
ing of  Jamestown,  Va.  (it  was  nine  years  later  than  the 
settlement  of  the  Spanish  colony  on  the  site  of  James- 
town, soon  abandoned),  by  eighty-eight  years  the  found- 
ing of  New  Amsterdam  (New  York  City).  It  was 
before  the  date  of  St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  1565.  Quebec 
has  the  right,  therefore,  to  call  herself  one  of  the  oldest 
cities  founded  by  Europeans  in  America,  if  she  may 
not  boast  of  being  the  very  oldest. 

Certainly  there  is  no  city  in  North  America  that  is 
more  famous  historically,  and  in  all  the  world  there  are 
few  more  picturesquely  located.  From  the  promontory 
where  stands  the  Chateau  Frontenac,  one  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway's  hotels,  and  especially  from  the 
windows  of  one  of  the  towers,  there  is  —  on  a  fair  day 
—  a  view  that  is  not  surpassed  easily  and  is  rarely 
matched.  Down  the  river  over  Isle  Royale,  with  a 
hint  of  the  Falls  of  Montmorency;  across  the  St.  Law- 
rence into  the  rolling  country  that  stretches  away  to 
the  Height  of  Land  forming  the  International  Boundary; 
up  the  river  past  the  Plains  of  Abraham;  northward 
into  the  Laurentian  Hills;  on  every  side  there  is  scenery 
in  which  grandeur  and  pastoral  simplicity  are  blended 
with  historical  recollections  that  form  visual  and  mental 
pictures  of  unequalled  brilliancy. 

The  bold  promontory,  on  which  the  Chateau  stands. 


264  THE     COMING     CANADA 

naturally  divides  the  city  into  two  parts,  the  Citadel 
and  the  Lower  Town.  If  there  is  perhaps  a  hint  at 
regularity  in  the  streets  of  the  former,  those  of  the  latter 
are  a  maze  so  intricate  that  none  but  the  habitue  can 
safely  trust  himself  alone  in  them.  But  getting  lost 
in  the  streets  of  Quebec  is  half  the  fun  of  a  visit :  the  old 
and  the  new  jostle  each  other  in  strange  propinquity, 
and  yet  at  every  turn  there  crops  up  something  which 
recalls  an  event  of  years  ago. 

With  modem  Quebec  is  closely  associated  the  history 
of  the  reigning  house  of  the  British  Empire,  for  the 
Duke  of  Kent,  Queen  Victoria's  father,  when  com- 
manding the  7th  Royal  Fusiliers,  Hved  for  four  years  in 
the  city. 

It  seems  a  pity  that  De  Monts  and  Champlain  should 
have  discarded  the  pleasing  Indian  name,  Woolastook, 
for  the  principal  river  of  New  Brunswick,  and  rechrist- 
ened  the  stream  St.  John,  just  because  they  chanced  to 
discover  it  on  the  anniversary  of  St.  John,  June  24th, 
in  1604,  and  that  the  English  did  not  restore  the  original 
name.  Just  where  the  town  of  St.  John  stands,  river 
and  tide  waters  meet,  and  such  is  the  strength  of  the 
latter's  flow  —  for  it  rises  thirty-five  feet  in  the  har- 
bour —  that  when  nearly  full  it  turns  back  the  stream, 
making  even  the  river  proper  appear  to  flow  upstream. 
Near  this  intermittent  fall  or  rapid  is  a  promontory  on 
which  stands  the  older  and  more  important  part  of  the 
City  of  St.  John.  It  extends  onto  other  heights,  and 
St.  John  may  truthfully  be  called  a  city  built  on  hills. 
From  many  points  charming  views  are  had  of  distant 
heights  crowned  by  buildings  which  recall  old  times. 


SOME     CANADIAN     TOWNS  265 

These  vistas  are  rendered  particularly  effective  when, 
at  sunset,  the  eyes  look  through  the  forest  of  masts, 
spars,  and  rigging  of  the  vessels  in  the  docks. 

Mr.  Allen  Jack  writes:  "It  is  almost,  if  not  quite, 
certain  that  for  centuries  before  the  coming  of  Europeans 
the  Indians,  temporarily  or  permanently,  used  some 
portion  of  the  shores  of  the  Harbour  of  St.  John  as  a 
resting  or  dwelhng  place.  The  French,  almost  from  the 
discovery  of  the  locality,  occupied  one  or  more  sites 
contiguous  to  the  harbour,  partly  for  commercial  or 
missionary  purposes,  but  mainly  for  military  reasons. 
Of  all  the  Frenchmen  who  lived  there,  the  Sieur  la  Tour, 
whose  noble  wife  once  fiercely  defended,  and  afterwards 
heroically  failed  in  defence  of,  the  Fort  at  St.  John 
bearing  her  husband's  name,  was  probably  the  only  one 
who  possessed  true  commercial  instincts  and  capacity." 

St.  John's  right  to  a  place  in  this  chapter  comes  as 
much  from  the  interest  which  attaches  to  its  neighbour- 
hood as  from  the  record  of  the  town  itself.  The  real 
history  of  the  place  begins  with  the  arrival  of  some 
United  Empire  Loyalists,  about  5000  of  whom  came 
there  from  the  United  States  after  the  Revolution,  1783. 
A  number  of  St.  John's  citizens  have  achieved  distinction 
in  Canadian  society  and  politics.  It  is  not  a  place  of 
conspicuous  wealth,  although  many  citizens  are  possessed 
of  means:  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  few  abjectly 
poor.  It  is  really  amazing  that,  where  there  are  at  all 
times  sailors  from  all  over  the  world,  one  policeman  for 
every  thousand  persons  is  sufficient  to  preserve  the 
peace. 

Hochelaga,  the  Indian  village  which  stood  on  the  site 


266  THE     COMING     CANADA 

of  the  lower  part  of  Montreal,  but  which  disappeared 
quickly,  was  known  to  the  early  French.  It  was  intended 
that  Montreal  should  be  "Ville  Marie,"  when,  in  1642, 
Paul  Chomedey,  Sieur  de  Maisonneuve,  one  of  the 
Associates  of  the  Society  formed  to  colonise  the  Island  of 
Montreal,  and  his  companions,  clerical  and  lay,  took 
formal  possession.  The  most  conspicuous  feature  in 
Montreal's  early  history  is  the  constant  annoyance  to 
which  the  settlers  were  subjected  by  the  Indians.  In 
1689,  ^^^^  place  the  dreadful  massacre  at  Lacliine,  near 
the  upper  end  of  the  island,  and  the  citizens  of  Montreal 
were  not  permanently  reUeved  from  anxiety  caused  by 
threatened  attacks  upon  themselves,  until  the  Iroquois 
were  suppressed. 

The  antiquarian  and  historian  find  valuable  material 
in  Montreal;  yet  its  strongest  claim  upon  our  attention 
is  its  remarkable  growth  as  a  commercial  centre.  The 
figures  which  measure  its  trade  cause  those  of  pretty 
nearly  all  the  rest  of  the  Dominion  to  sink  into  insignifi- 
cance. I  must,  however,  warn  my  readers  that  Mon- 
treal's trade  returns  may  include  statistics  of  interior 
towns;  because  grain,  lumber,  etc.,  destined  for  foreign 
ports  and  transshipped  here,  can  easily  appear  twice. 

After  the  British  conquest,  the  French  population  of 
Montreal,  relatively  to  the  British,  was  very  large;  yet 
to  their  credit  let  it  be  said  that,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
it  was  a  very  disorderly  period,  but  few  French  names 
appear  in  the  magistrates'  records.  During  1775-6 
the  city  saw  many  changes,  and  doubtless  some  of  the 
French  hated  to  see  the  British  flag  flying  where  the 
French  had  been;  but  before  the  score  of  years  between 


SOME     CANADIAN     TOWNS  267 

the  British  conquest  and  the  American  Revolution  had 
passed,  even  these  had  come  to  reahse  how  much  their 
position  was  improved.  ''They  had  better  markets, 
better  crops  in  those  days  of  peace,  and  securer  privileges 
every  way,  and  now  to  be  subjected  to  the  sway  of  the 
New  England  Puritan  Colonists  would  be  one  of  times 
as  bad  as  ever."  Although  this  is  the  opinion  of  a 
Canadian  divine,  the  Rev.  J.  Douglas  Borthwick,  I 
have  no  disposition  to  contradict  him. 

Halifax  is  the  capital  of  the  maritime  Province  of 
Nova  Scotia.  It  is  undoubtedly  now  and  will  continue 
to  be  the  chief  Atlantic  seaport  of  the  Dominion,  because 
it  is  "an  all-the-year-round  harbour";  for  in  spite  of  the 
high  latitude  it  is  so  free  from  ice  that  ocean-going 
vessels  may  enter  at  all  seasons.  With  Halifax  are 
associated  in  the  history  of  Acadia,  Louisburg,  Annapohs, 
Beausejour,  and  other  places.  When  Louisburg  was  dis- 
mantled, Halifax  arose  and  from  its  birth  its  lullaby  has 
been  martial  music  on  land  and  sea,  for  the  garrison 
has  never  been  discontinued,  even  if  its  maintenance 
has  been  transferred  from  Imperial  to  Dominion  charge. 

The  town  stands  on  a  pear-shaped  peninsula  about 
five  miles  long  and  three  wide.  At  Citadel  Hill  this 
promontory  rises  to  about  250  feet  above  the  harbour. 
It  is  rather  a  striking  coincidence  that  Hahfax,  on  the 
Atlantic,  and  Vancouver,  on  the  Pacific,  should  both 
be  famous  for  their  magnificent  seaside  city  parks. 

Ottawa  is  said  to  be  the  offspring  of  two  very  bad 
parents,  War  and  Political  Faction:  a  suggestion  of 
what  this  means  has  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter. 
Yet  had  an  alliance,  itself  displeasing,  not  brought  about 


268  THE     COMING     CANADA 

this  birth,  it  is  certain  that  physical  and  industrial 
conditions  would  have  ensured  the  growth  of  a  city  on 
this  attractive  site.  The  town  stands  on  a  natural 
route  from  the  middle  St.  Lawrence  River  to  the  upper 
Great  Lakes,  as  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  Indians 
used  it  when  only  they  and  wild  animals  inhabited  these 
forests.  If  Ottawa  was  for  some  years  Uttle  more  than 
an  enclosure  for  the  Dominion  Government  buildings 
and  the  homes  of  Civil  Servants,  it  has  passed  beyond 
that  stage.  It  is  a  prosperous,  progressive  city  of 
100,000  inhabitants.  Its  lumber  trade,  including  that 
of  the  suburb,  Hull,  is  about  the  only  thing  which  gives 
it  commercial  or  industrial  importance.  It  is  essentially 
a  city  of  homes;  but  since  ''homes"  naturally  means 
children,  and  children  require  education,  Ottawa  offers 
such  attractions  and  advantages  as  would  properly  be 
expected. 

The  piece  de  resistance  is  of  course  the  Parliament 
Buildings,  three  —  the  main,  legislative  assembly  halls, 
offices,  libraries,  etc.,  and  two  flanking  edifices  for  the 
headquarters  of  Dominion  officials  and  others.  These 
three  stand  in  a  beautiful  park  on  a  high  bluff  above  the 
Ottawa  River.  Looking  up  towards  the  park  from  the 
city  along  Metcalfe  Street  is  a  fine  sight.  At  the  other 
end  of  that  street,  and  about  half  a  mile  from  Parlia- 
ment Park,  is  the  Victoria  Memorial,  in  another  park. 
This  is  a  Museum  which  promises  to  give  citizens  and 
visitors  admirable  opportunities  to  study  the  natural 
resources,  natural  history,  ethnology,  etc.,  of  the  entire 
Dominion.  The  three  Parliament  Buildings  are  inade- 
quate for  all  departments  of  government,  and  conse- 


Empress  Hotel  and  Hakholk,  Viciohia,  Va.ncolvek 
Island,  B    C. 


On  Skeena  River,  B.  C 


\ 


SOME     CANADIAN      TOWNS  269 

quently  there  are  bureaus  housed  in  public  or  private 
buildings  all  over  the  city. 

Rideau  Hall,  the  official  residence  of  the  Governor- 
General,  is  in  the  outskirts.  It  is  a  large,  rambling, 
but  comfortable  domicile  and  stands  in  well-kept  grounds 
which  have  not  been  shorn  entirely  of  natural  beauty. 
The  Hall  overlooks  the  river,  and  the  Laurentian 
Hills  are  seen  far  away  in  the  north;  the  views  are 
superb. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  estabhshed  a  trading-post,  Fort 
Comosun,  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Victoria, 
Vancouver  Island,  at  almost  the  extreme  western  end 
of  what  was  to  be  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  In  1849 
the  island  was  formally  proclaimed  a  British  possession 
and  thrown  open  to  colonisation;  James  Douglas,  after- 
wards Sir  James,  being  the  first  governor.  In  1856  he 
called  together  the  first  Pro\dncial  Parliament  which 
met  in  a  room  of  the  fort.  To-day  Victoria,  "The 
Queen  City  of  British  Columbia,"  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  salubrious  residential  towns  in  the  Domin- 
ion. The  rush  of  miners  to  the  Fraser  River  gold  fields, 
in  1858,  and  lately  a  small  part  of  a  similar  skurry  to 
the  Klondike,  have  caused  ripples  upon  the  placid  life 
of  the  Httle  city;  but  usually  it  has  preser\'ed  the 
quiet  of  a  combination  business  town  and  military  post. 
Many  well-to-do  families  have  made  their  homes  here, 
attracted  by  the  natural  surroundings,  the  commercial 
and  educational  advantages,  and  the  temperate  climate. 
Being  a  port  of  call  for  steamers  to  and  from  Asia  and 
Australia,  there  is  always  a  sense  of  being  in  touch  with 


270  THE     COMING     CANADA 

the  world;  and  this  is  a  satisfaction  to  those  whose 
affluence  relieves  them  from  active  avocation. 

Vancouver  has  lost  the  mushroom  appearance  it  wore 
for  some  years  after  the  Canadian  Pacific  transferred 
its  western  terminus  to  this  place  from  Port  Moody. 
It  is  now  the  principal  shipping  port  on  the  Dominion's 
Pacific  coast,  and  a  substantial  town  of  more  than  100,000 
inhabitants.  It  is  admirably  equipped  with  the  facilities 
that  make  life  comfortable:  its  schools,  homes,  hotels, 
churches,  public  and  commercial  buildings  have  a  look 
of  permanency  and  prosperity  that  is  pleasing;  while 
the  captious  critic  can  find  little  fault  with  its  commercial 
and  industrial  activity.  Stanley  Park,  the  complement 
of  the  one  at  Halifax,  is  at  the  extreme  western  end  of 
the  bold  peninsula  on  which  Vancouver  stands:  in  it 
are  some  of  the  largest  trees  in  British  Columbia;  while 
its  fern-carpeted  glades,  traversed  by  excellent  drive- 
ways, bridle-paths,  and  walks,  make  it  a  most  charming 
city  breathing-place. 

From  Tadousac,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay,  up 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  lakes,  and  on  at  least  as  far 
as  Toronto  and  Hamilton,  there  are  quite  two  score 
places  that  I  should  like  to  mention  in  this  chapter,  for 
they  all  deserve  it;  but  I  am  not  writing  a  book  about 
Canadian  towns. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

A   FEW  CANADIANS 

TO  do  even  scant  justice  to  all  Canadians  who  have 
contributed  much  towards  the  conquest  of  the 
Dominion,  to  its  political  creation,  its  development, 
and  who  have  marked  out  clearly  the  pathway  along 
which  The  Coming  Canada  shall  progress  to  even  greater 
things  than  those  which  have  been,  so  completely  exceeds 
the  possible  in  one  short  chapter  as  to  make  the  small 
effort  upon  which  I  venture  seem  ridiculous.  If  I  shall 
be  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  some  Canadian  readers,  I 
beg  that  they  will  not  consider  the  omission  of  very 
many  names  which  should  be  here,  as  altogether  a 
sign  of  ignorance,  but  attribute  it  to  the  limitations  of 
space. 

I  shall  say  no  more  of  the  French  pioneers,  both  lay 
and  clerical,  but  pass  on  to  the  time  when  British  policy 
asserted  itself,  and  then  to  the  time  when  the  conduct 
of  affairs  was  left  entirely  in  the  hands  of  Canadians 
themselves.  Naturally,  then,  the  men  who  first  made 
known  to  their  fellow  countrymen  something  of  the 
magnitude  and  economic  possibilities  of  the  vast  estate 
which  had  fallen  to  them,  claim  precedence,  and  in  Mr. 
J.  Castwell  Hopkins'  Encyclopaedia,  I  find  abundant 
material  from  which  I  have,  in  part,  drawn. 

Alexander   Mackenzie   (the  name  is  sometimes  im- 


272  THE     COMING     CANADA 

properly  given  as  McKenzie)  was  probably  born  at 
Inverness,  Scotland,  about  1755.  He  must  have  been 
still  very  young  when  he  yielded  to  the  temptation  to 
leave  home,  because  in  1779  he  appears  to  have  been  in 
Canada,  for  he  entered  the  offices  of  the  North  West 
Fur  Company  at  Toronto  in  that  year.  In  1787  he  was 
entrusted  with  a  small  stock  of  goods  which  he  took  to 
Detroit,  and  he  was  given  permission  to  trade,  provided 
he  penetrated  into  the  Indian  territory,  beyond  that 
frontier,  in  the  spring  of  the  next  year.  He  succeeded 
in  establishing  barter  with  the  Indians,  although  they 
were  disposed  to  resent  his  efforts. 

In  1789,  Mackenzie  was  sent  to  explore  the  un- 
known region  far  to  the  North  West,  which  was  even 
at  that  time  supposed  to  be  bounded  by  the  Frozen  Sea. 
This  expedition,  which  was  much  condemned  at  the 
time,  was  looked  upon  as  an  exploit  of  sheer  hardihood. 
He  accomplished  it  in  less  than  three  and  a  half  months, 
most  of  the  time  he  and  his  companions  being  in  birch- 
bark  canoes.  He  made  his  way  to  Great  Slave  Lake 
and  thereafter  discovered  the  river  which  bears  his 
name.  Having  descended  this  noble  stream  to  its 
mouth,  he  returned  to  Toronto,  where,  for  a  short  period, 
he  attended  to  post-trading. 

In  1792,  he  began  the  expedition  across  the  prairies 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific,  which  has 
already  been  mentioned.  From  the  Pacific  shores,  he 
once  more  retraced  his  steps  and  again  settled  down  for 
a  short  taste  of  comfortable  home  life.  The  narrative 
of  his  explorations  in  the  North  West,  which  he  published 
in  1 80 1  and  dedicated  to  King  George  III,  is  most  fasci- 


^ 


A     FEW     CANADIANS  273 

nating  reading.  The  next  year  the  King  conferred  upon 
him  the  honour  of  knighthood. 

Sir  Alexander  continued  to  be  a  partner  in  the  North 
West  Company;  yet  with  somewhat  curious  ideas  of 
commercial  ethics,  he  organised  a  rival  firm  which  was 
called  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  &  Co.  The  competition 
did  not  last  long,  for  in  1805  the  firm  was  absorbed  by 
the  older  company.  Like  so  many  successful  Britons, 
Sir  Alexander  became  possessed  with  a  desire  to  sit  in 
Parliament,  and  for  some  years  he  represented  Hun- 
tingdon County,  in  the  Provincial  Parliament  for  Canada 
East  (now  Quebec).  During  this  time  he  was  involved 
in  much  litigation  with  Lord  Selkirk  concerning  the  Red 
River  Settlement  in  what  is  now  the  Province  of  Mani- 
toba. In  181 2,  Sir  Alexander  returned  to  Scotland, 
where  he  purchased  an  estate  at  Avoch  in  Ross-shire. 
On  a  journey  to  Edinburgh  in  1820,  he  was  suddenly 
taken  ill  and  died  at  Mulnain,  near  Dunkeld. 

The  narratives  of  Sir  Alexander's  two  great  expeditions 
may  be  read  by  all  who  care  to  do  so.  The  details  show 
the  character  of  the  man  as  an  explorer,  and  as  an  adept 
in  accommodating  himself  to  circumstances  until  he 
could  compel  those  circumstances  to  conform  to  his 
wishes.  They  also  indicate  a  remarkable  capacity  for 
dealing  with  all  classes  of  men;  his  own  determined 
fellow  countrymen,  Europeans  of  various  nations,  the 
fickle  voyageurs  and  coureiirs  des  hois,  or  the  "^ily,  cun- 
ning, often  tricky  Indian.  But  another  phase  of  this 
man's  character  appears  in  the  fact  that  he  was  made  a 
partner  in  the  North  West  Company  when  comparatively 
young.     As  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal  says: 


274  THE     COMING     CANADA 

''It  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  obtain  admission  into  this 
partnership.  It  could  be  accomplished  only  by  long 
and  arduous  service;  money  was  no  object,  abihty  was 
everything.  It  was  what  the  candidate  could  perform, 
not  his  relationship,  which  secured  him  the  position." 
It  is  little  wonder  that  Canada  pays  high  honour  to  the 
memory  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie. 

At  the  same  time  that  Mackenzie  was  cutting  that 
inscription  on  the  rock  at  Dean  Inlet,  mentioned  in  a 
previous  chapter,  another  venturesome  explorer,  Capt. 
George  Vancouver,  was  making  his  way  up  the  Pacific 
coast  of  North  America,  less  than  two  hundred  miles 
north  of  where  the  first  Briton  to  cross  the  continent 
had  reached  the  strand.  Vancouver  had  already 
visited  the  very  same  spot  that  Mackenzie  subsequently 
reached;  but  he  seems  to  have  left  no  sign,  and  it  is  a 
strange  thing  that  these  two  explorers  did  not  meet 
each  other  in  that  remote  region. 

Thirteen  years  after  Mackenzie  reached  the  Pacific, 
Simon  Fraser  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains,  south  of 
Mackenzie's  trail,  and  reached  the  river  which  was 
named  after  him.  It  is  hardly  correct  to  claim  that  he 
was  its  discoverer,  but  there  is  Httle  doubt  that  he  was 
the  first  white  man  to  descend  it.  As  one  gazes  upon 
the  foaming  rapids  and  boiling  whirlpools  of  that  wild 
river,  one  can  readily  believe  that  Eraser's  exploit  has 
not  been  repeated  by  many,  even  Indians. 

One  Canadian,  however,  George  Simpson,  Governor 
in  Chief  of  Rupert's  Land  and  General  Superintendent 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  offices  in  North  America, 
who   was   afterwards   knighted,    took   canoe   at    York 


A     FEW    CANADIANS  275 

Factory  on  Hudson  Bay,  in  1828.  He  went  up  Nelson 
and  Churchill  rivers,  reached  Lake  Athabasca,  went 
up  the  Peace  River  as  far  as  possible,  then  carried  his 
light  craft  to  the  great  northern  bend  of  the  Fraser, 
down  which  he  made  his  way  safely  to  the  Pacific. 
Simpson  made  another  famous  journey  in  1841.  He 
went  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Ottawa  rivers,  across 
Lakes  Nipissing,  Huron,  and  Superior  to  the  portage 
between  the  affluents  of  the  last  and  those  of  Lake 
Winnipeg.  Then  he  went  up  the  Saskatchewan  to  its 
headwaters,  crossed  over  the  Rockies,  and  descended 
the  Kootenay  to  the  Columbia  River.  Of  Simpson 
"It  is  stated  that  he  was  the  first  Hudson's  Bay  Governor 
who  fulfilled,  on  behalf  of  the  Company,  the  duty 
imposed  upon  them  by  its  charter  —  the  task  of  explora- 
tion and  geographical  discovery." 

Turning  from  the  brave  explorers  whose  labours  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  Dominion,  that  is  almost  an 
empire  in  itself,  I  mention  the  name  of  one  who  added 
to  that  foundation  a  stone  of  great  importance.  I  do 
not  know  that  I  can  correctly  call  the  Hon.  Sir  Francis 
Hincks  the  father  of  the  Canadian  banking  system,  but 
he  was  assuredly  an  important  factor  of  it.  Nor  would 
it  be  truthful  to  say  that  the  very  foundations  of  that 
system  have  never  been  severely  shaken;  for  they  have, 
and  sometimes  the  shock  has  been  one  from  which  the  re- 
covery was  slow  and  discouraging.  When  such  financial 
disasters  have  come,  they  were  always  traceable  to 
causes  which  showed  that  Sir  Francis'  principles  had 
been  departed  from. 

Canada  presents  to  the  obser\ing  American  a  combi- 


276  THE     COMING    CANADA 

nation  in  one  and  the  same  man  of  politics  and  literature, 
or  finance,  or  commerce,  or  industry  —  or  sometimes  of 
three  or  more  of  these  together,  which  seems  to  be 
undesirable  south  of  the  border.  Sir  Francis  Hincks, 
when  a  young  man,  was  supercargo  of  a  vessel  to  Bar- 
badoes;  then  he  went  to  Canada,  "where  he  soon  won 
a  high  reputation  in  business  circles,  and  a  permanent 
place  in  political  councils."  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Parliament,  Canada  West;  afterwards  Minis- 
ter of  Finance;  and  later  Prime  Minister.  From  Canada 
he  returned  to  Barbadoes  as  Governor,  and  was  subse- 
quently Governor  of  British  Guiana.  Before  this  he 
had  been  intimately  associated  with  Lord  Elgin  in 
negotiating,  at  Washington,  the  famous  Reciprocity 
Treaty  of  1854.  In  1873,  he  retired  from  public  life 
after  having  had  much  to  do  with  the  moulding  of 
Canada's  banking  system. 

So  many  prominent  men  have  been  associated  with 
the  railways  of  Canada,  that  it  is  awkward  to  pick  out 
just  a  few  for  mention  here.  Perhaps  it  would  be  more 
accurate  to  say  that  many  Canadians  have  risen  to 
prominence  because  of  their  successful  administration  of 
these  great  enterprises.  Henry  Fairbairn  is  a  name  that 
is,  I  am  sure,  not  known  to  all  Canadians,  and  south 
of  the  border  it  is  practically  unknown.  Yet  it  was  he 
who,  in  1832,  made  the  statement:  *'I  propose:  first, 
to  form  a  Railway  for  wagons  from  Quebec  to  the 
harbour  of  St.  Andrews  upon  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  a  work 
which  will  convey  the  whole  trade  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
in  a  single  day  to  the  Atlantic  waters."  He  purposed, 
further,  extending  the  line  eastward  to  connect  with  the 


A     FEW     CANADIANS  277 

railways  of  the  United  States.  Bearing  in  mind  that  the 
first  railway  of  the  world,  the  Stockton  and  Darlington, 
England,  was  opened  February  27,  1825,  it  will  be 
seen  that  some  Canadians  v/ere  prompt  to  realise  the 
benefits  of  this  new  method  of  transportation.  When 
Fairbairn's  suggestion  was  at  length  acted  upon,  it 
gave  rise  to  what  is  now  known  as  the  Intercolonial 
Railway.  With  the  name  of  Fairbairn  should  be  coupled 
that  of  the  Hon.  Edward  Barron  Chandler. 

Sir  Francis  Hincks,  who  has  just  been  mentioned, 
had  almost  as  much  to  do  wdth  the  railway  development 
of  Canada  as  he  had  with  its  banking  and  financial 
system,  and  especially  with  the  early  history  of  the 
Grand  Trunk  Railway.  The  Hon.  John  Ross,  a  Cana- 
dian Senator,  who  was  actively  engaged  in  the  organisa- 
tion of  that  company  and  with  the  construction  of  the 
Victoria  Bridge,  at  Montreal,  was  an  Irishman  by  birth. 
He  did  not  live  to  old  age,  but  he  did  much  for  Canada, 
and  an  appropriate  monument  to  his  memory  stands 
in  St.  James'  Cemetery,  Toronto.  As  part  of  the  early 
history  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  must  be  mentioned 
the  names  of  Walter  Stanley,  constructing  engineer, 
and  Sir  Joseph  Hickson,  President;  and  there  are 
others,  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned. 

Long  before  the  project  of  laying  a  trans-continental 
railway  had  taken  form,  in  the  building  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  the  desirability  of  such  a  line  had  been  advocated. 
In  1829,  Mr.  McTaggart,  a  civil  engineer,  had  proposed 
such  a  highway.  In  1848,  ^lajor  Carmichael-Smyth 
had  recommended  the  construction  by  convict  labour 
of  a  railway  to  the  Pacific  by  way  of  the  Kicking  Horse 


278  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Pass.  While  these  names  should  be  remembered,  they 
are  not  those  of  whom  the  Canadians  speak  as  their 
great  men.  In  1872,  when  Parliamentary  action  was 
taken,  the  names  of  D.  L.  Macpherson,  afterwards 
knighted,  and  Sir  Hugh  Allan  come  to  mind,  with  those 
of  the  men  who  were  mentioned  when  writing  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  in  a  previous  chapter:  all  of 
these  are  justly  considered  great  in  their  way.  Later, 
when  the  construction  along  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Superior  and  the  piercing  of  the  Selkirk  Mountains  were 
causing  bitter  discouragement,  there  were  two  men  who 
came  forward  and  turned  threatened  defeat  into  glorious 
victory.  Mr.  W.  C.  Van  Home,  afterwards  Sir  William, 
and  Major  A.  B.  Rogers,  whose  name  has  been  very 
properly  given  to  the  pass  through  the  Selkirks  which 
he  found,  appeared  and  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
situation.  In  a  way,  the  surveyors  and  constructors 
of  the  railways  which  are  penetrating  the  remote  sections 
of  the  Dominion,  and  crossing  the  continent  by  other 
routes  than  the  pioneer,  are  doing  great  work;  but  the 
glory  of  initiative  is  not  theirs. 

If  the  demands  of  modern  life  give  precedence  to  rail- 
ways, because  of  the  rapidity  with  which  they  carry 
passengers  and  freight,  it  would  be  unfair  to  pass  by  the 
names  of  some  men  who  have  increased  the  capacity 
of  the  grand  natural  means  of  internal  communication 
which  Canadian  waterways  furnish.  To  give  credit 
to  all  would  logically  require  that  the  first  who  marked 
out  the  useful  portages,  linking  up  the  open  streams  or 
lakes,  be  mentioned;  but  that  is  manifestly  impossible 
—  partly  because  the  names  of  many  of  those  pioneers 


A     FEW     CANADIANS  279 

are  not  known;  principally  because  there  were  too  many 
of  them.  The  Hon.  William  Hamilton  Merritt,  after 
sundry  failures  due  to  lack  of  technical  skill  in  making 
preliminary  surveys,  secured  a  charter  for  what  is  now 
the  Welland  Canal,  connecting  lakes  Erie  and  Ontario 
and  permitting  vessels  to  pass  round  the  impassable 
Niagara  Falls.  From  this  beginning  has  grown  the 
system  of  canals  which  now  permit  ocean-going  steamers 
to  load  at  Fort  William,  Port  Arthur,  and  all  the  Ameri- 
can lake  ports;  go  down  to  the  deep  sea,  pass  onward, 
and  discharge  cargo  at  any  port  in  the  world. 

How  fev/  people  know  that  Samuel  Cunard,  erelong 
Sir  Samuel,  Baronet,  the  founder  of  the  great  Cunard 
Steamship  Company,  was  a  Canadian!  Yet  he  was 
born  at  Halifax,  November  21,  1787;  and  what  is  more 
interesting  to  Americans,  he  was  the  son  of  a  Phila- 
delphia merchant  whose  business  connection  took  him 
to  the  Nova  Scotia  town  where  he  decided  to  remain. 
When  Samuel  Cunard  was  fifty-one  years  of  age,  that 
is  in  1838,  he  interested  British  capitalists  and  succeeded 
in  having  built  four  steamers  of  1200  tons  burden  and 
of  440  horsepower  each.  The  first  of  these,  the  Britamiia, 
made  the  voyage  from  Liverpool,  whence  she  sailed  on 
July  4,  1840,  to  Boston,  at  which  port  she  arrived 
on  the  1 8th.  But  this  was  not  the  first  steamship  to 
conquer  the  oceans;  and  the  honour  of  having  accom- 
plished this  marvel  also  belongs  to  Canadians.  In 
1833,  a  vessel  was  built  at  Quebec  and  christened  the 
Royal  William.  William  IV  was  then  on  the  English 
throne.  The  Royal  William  made  the  first  complete 
passage  between   the  American   and   European   coasts 


28o  THE     COMING      CANADA 

of  the  Atlantic,  under  her  own  steam  solely.  In  the  list 
of  this  steamer's  owners  appeared  the  names  of  Joseph, 
Henry,  and  Samuel  Cunard.  She  was  designed  by  James 
Goudie,  who  superintended  her  building,  equipping  and 
launching,  in  the  yards  of  Campbell  and  Black,  Quebec. 
Surely  the  pioneer  of  the  builders  and  owners  of  the 
Lusitania  and  Mauretania,  who  organised  the  com- 
pany which  was  the  prototype  of  the  hundreds  whose 
steamers  now  cross  the  seas,  may  be  given  a  place  in 
the  list  of  a  few  Canadians. 

I  know  that  not  one  of  the  great  Canadian  states- 
men is  mentioned  here.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
do  so,  because  all  know  and  honour  them.  My  purpose 
is  to  direct  attention  to  a  few  who  have  done  good  work 
for  the  Dominion  in  quiet  ways  that  do  not  win  the 
vociferous  applause  of  the  world.  I  do  not  mean  to 
insist  that  those  whom  I  have  named,  and  the  thou- 
sands others  like  them,  were  absolutely  altruistic;  but 
this  I  think:  they  were,  or  are,  typical  of  that  spirit 
which  has  been  conspicuous  in  a  majority  of  Canada's 
prominent  men  ever  since  1763.  It  has  led  men  to  work 
for  the  whole  country,  and  if  it  is  fostered  it  will  make 
the  Coming  Canada  all  that  loyal  Canadians  wish. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
RECIPROCITY 

AFTER  having  had  abundant  opportunity  to  learn 
the  feelings  of  Canadians  who  are  competent  to 
express  an  opinion  upon  this  important  subject,  I  feel 
that  I  may  safely  say  that  a  majority  of  the  Dominion's 
citizens  would  be  glad  to  have  a  certain  form  of  reci- 
procity; one  which  would  enure  to  their  benefit,  and  at 
the  same  time  would,  in  their  opinion,  confer  a  com- 
mensurate advantage  upon  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
I  may  seem  to  wish  to  wound  the  vanity  of  my  fellow 
countrymen  (although  I  deny  any  such  intent)  when 
I  say  that  they  must  not  assume  it  is  we  only  who  would 
be  doing  a  favour  in  re-enacting  a  Reciprocity  provision 
which  Canada  would  ratify;  because  American  econo- 
mists would  not  have  advocated  the  measure  of  two 
years  ago,  had  they  been  altogether  unselfish.  Philan- 
thropic sentiment  has  very  little  to  do  with  such  matters. 
In  the  last  chapter  I  expressed  the  opinion  that  most 
Canadians  are  disposed  to  work  for  the  good  of  their 
whole  country,  and  I  think  their  action  in  rejecting  the 
Reciprocity  Treaty  does  not  at  all  contradict  my  opinion. 
I  am  aware  that  there  were  some  who  took  a  perverted 
view  of  their  responsibilities  when  they  insisted  upon 
distorting  certain  rather  ill-considered  (yet  not  inten- 
tionally   offensive)    expressions    by    a    few    prominent 


282  THE     COMING     CANADA 

Americans,  as  indicating  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  to  unite  the  Dominion  to  their  own 
country,  and  thus  have  one  great  Anglo-Saxon  govern- 
ment from  the  Mexican  frontier  away  to  the  North 
Pole. 

So  far  as  the  Reciprocity  Treaty  of  191 1  was  concerned, 
there  were  not  many  Canadians  who  were  not  pleased 
with  the  prospect  of  securing  the  commercial  benefits 
which  it  promised;  it  was  the  bad  politics,  infused  into 
the  proposition  by  sensation-mongers  south  of  the 
boundary  and  timid  alarmists  to  the  north,  which 
brought  about  its  rejection  and  the  downfall  of  the 
Laurier  Government.  After  a  reasonable  time  has  been 
permitted  to  elapse  so  that  the  influence  of  those  bad 
politics  may  pass  away,  there  is  no  reason  to  believe 
that  a  Reciprocity  Treaty  or  Agreement,  drawn  up  on 
very  much  the  same  lines  as  those  of  the  rejected  one, 
will  not  prove  acceptable  to  the  Canadians  and  bene- 
ficial to  all  parties  concerned.  Canadian  manufacturers 
are  pushing  ahead  most  actively;  yet  there  is  not 
apparent  any  marked  tendency  to  the  form  of  concentra- 
tion or  monopoly  which  our  leading  publicists  (that  is 
the  few  who  are  really  disinterested)  deplore  as  threaten- 
ing the  democratic  principles  upon  which  our  social, 
economic,  and  political  systems  are  supposed  to  be 
based.  .  '  • 

An  indication  of  this  seeming  opposition  to  doubtful, 
not  to  say  dangerous,  concentration  may  be  seen  in 
the  fact  that  the  .Canadian  Government  and  people  are 
firm  in  their  opposition  to  allowing  any  single  railway 
system  to  exercise  monopolistic  or  exclusive  rights  in 


RECIPROCITY  283 

a  particular  territory.  If  a  railway  map  of  the  Domin- 
ion is  carefully  studied,  it  will  be  seen  that  every  one  of 
the  three  great  private  systems,  the  Grand  Trunk,  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  and  the  Canadian  Northern,  is  per- 
mitted, and  even  encouraged  by  local  or  State  aid,  to 
construct  lines  into  regions  which,  but  for  this  apparent 
desire  to  discourage  monopoly,  might  easily  be  con- 
tended are  in  the  nature  of  ''preserved  domain." 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  and  my  conclusion  is  based 
upon  very  close  study  of  conditions  in  all  parts  of  the 
Dominion,  that  the  Central  Government  and  the  people 
themselves  would  not  tolerate  such  apparent  assump- 
tions of  exclusive  rights  as  have  been  conspicuous  in 
various  parts  of  the  United  States.  To  be  specific,  I 
mention  the  successful  efforts  in  the  west  to  prevent 
construction  of  parallel  lines  so  close  to  established  ones 
as  to  furnish  absolute  competition;  equally  successful 
efforts  in  the  eastern  states,  Pennsylvania  for  example, 
to  exclude  competitors  from  profitable  territory;  and 
other  similar  cases  might  be  cited,  although  I  have  no 
doubt  every  reader  will  think  of  many. 

It  is  impossible  for  any  poKtical  economist  to  conceive 
of  conditions  in  Canada  parallelling  the  brazen  monopoly 
of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  system  in 
its  appropriated  territory,  southern  New  England;  or 
the  treatment  of  the  city  of  Pliiladelphia  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad.  Our  apparent  inability  to  release 
ourselves  from  the  clutches  of  the  giant  railway  corpora- 
tions is  amazing  to  the  Canadians,  and  their  open  derision 
of  the  inefficient  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  is 
humiliating.     They  say  of  this  bureau  that  it  is  mani- 


284  THE     COMING     CANADA 

festly  intended  to  give  sinecures  to  political  friends  of 
the  administration,  and  to  promote  Ktigation  so  that 
attorneys  may  have  employment;  that  it  accomplishes 
aught  for  the  real  benefit  of  the  public,  they  vehemently 
deny. 

Unless  a  remarkable  change  takes  place  in  the  views 
of  economists  and  the  methods  of  doing  business  in 
Canada,  it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  such  monopolies 
as  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  the  Steel  Trust,  the 
Harvester  Trust,  and  —  to  use  a  vague  and  rather 
inaccurate  term  to  denote  a  very  tangible  fact  —  the 
Money  Trust,  could  be  organised  in  Canada.  If  Reci- 
procity is  again  contemplated  in  which  the  initiative 
must  be  taken  by  the  United  States,  and  the  effort 
should  bring  promise  of  greater  success  than  marked  the 
last  one,  all  these  conditions  will  be  thoughtfully  con- 
sidered by  the  Canadians,  and  every  possible  precaution 
will  be  taken  to  make  it  impossible  for  these  objection- 
able combinations,  in  restraint  of  legitimate  trade  and 
healthy  competition,  to  find  a  loophole  in  convention 
or  treaty  through  which  they  may  carry  their  operations 
into  the  Dominion. 

It  is  not,  however,  as  producers  of  manufactured 
goods  that  Canadians  could  be  specially  interested  in 
the  re-enactment  of  a  Reciprocity  treaty:  for  in  the 
very  nature  of  things  it  must  be  a  long  time  before  such 
industries  shall  have  developed  sufficiently  to  make  it 
possible  for  Canadian  goods  to  be  sent  profitably  into 
the  United  States,  even  if  the  present  prohibitive  Ameri- 
can tariff  were  removed  entirely  or  reduced  materially. 
It  is  from  the  United  States  into  Canada  that  such  things 


RECIPROCITY  285 

must  pass,  certainly  until  the  number  of  workmen  to 
be  herded  in  factories  and  trained  to  turn  out  great 
quantities  of  all  those  articles  for  which  the  material 
is  to  be  had  in  abundance  in  the  Dominion,  has  been 
increased  far  beyond  anything  which  the  immediate 
future  promises.  Furniture  and  woodenware  of  all 
kinds  are  present  exceptions  to  this  statement. 

Reciprocity  means  to  the  Canadian,  the  privilege  of 
sending  raw  materials  into  the  United  States,  either 
free  of  duty  or  at  such  a  reasonable  tariff  as  shall  ensure 
profit  to  the  shipper;  and  the  possibly  greater  privileges 
of  bringing  the  many  manufactured  articles  from  the 
States  which  cannot  yet  be  produced  so  cheaply  in  the 
Dominion.  Every  American  who  has  travelled  in 
Canada,  or  Mexico,  or  any  other  foreign  country,  knows 
very  well  that  there  is  hardly  an  American  manufactured 
article,  from  a  steel  pen  or  a  watch  to  a  combination 
reaper  and  binder,  which  cannot  be  bought  cheaper 
abroad  than  at  home,  because  those  articles  must  meet 
the  competition  of  similar  articles  made  in  other 
countries. 

The  travesty  of  **the  export  price"  of  our  manufac- 
tures, often  less  than  one-half  the  home  price,  indicates 
clearly  that  profits  are  illegitimate,  or  economic  condi- 
tions altogether  distorted.  I  myself  am  wearing  Ameri- 
can underclothing  which  I  bought  in  a  foreign  country 
for  about  one-half  the  price  that  is  demanded  for  it  in 
our  retail  stores.  Such  unfair  profit  wall  not  be  permitted 
in  Canada,  and  Reciprocity  will  not  be  considered  if 
conditions  are  to  be  such  as  to  make  it  possible.  If  the 
Canadians  should  detect  in  any  proposed  movement 


286  THE    COMING    CANADA 

towards  Reciprocity  a  possibility  that  such  a  concern 
as  the  Harvester  Trust  might  gain  a  footing,  and  be 
enabled  to  dictate  to  the  husbandmen  of  the  growing 
North  West  as  it  does  to  the  American  farmers,  the 
opposition  to  such  a  proposition  would  be  far  wider  and 
fiercer  than  was  that  displayed  two  years  ago,  and  it 
would  not  be  necessary  for  political  demagogues  to  assert 
that  there  is  a  purpose  hidden  in  the  terms  of  the  con- 
vention or  treaty  which  assaults  the  integrity  of  the 
Dominion. 

Reciprocity  between  the  United  States  and  Canada 
would  be  of  great  benefit  to  both  countries,  if  wisely 
conceived  and  fairly  worked  out.  The  terms  proposed 
two  years  ago  were  generally  satisfactory,  although 
experience  will  have  taught  how  even  that  treaty  can 
be  expanded  and  improved;  and  I  fail  to  see  any  menace 
to  the  agricultural,  industrial,  or  commercial  inter- 
ests of  the  people  on  either  side  of  the  International 
Boundary.  Consequently,  I  am  strongly  in  favour  of 
securing  for  ourselves  whatever  benefit  such  legislation 
or  diplomatic  negotiation  would  bring;  and  of  giving 
to  our  northern  neighbours  whatever  advantages  can  be 
conferred  by  our  longer  established  and  more  perfected 
industries.  It  is,  however,  rather  as  an  economic 
proposition  than  as  a  political  move  that  it  should  be 
considered. 

As  for  the  annexation  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  by 
the  United  States  of  America,  I  cannot  conceive  of  it 
as  possible,  nor  do  I  believe  it  is  desirable  in  any  way. 
In  1783  the  barrier  was  raised  between  the  two  countries 
which  I  feel  sure  can  never  be  thrown  down.     Even 


RECIPROCITY  287 

before  the  close  of  the  War  of  American  Independence, 
British  statesmen  had  come  to  see  the  folly  of  that 
course  which  they  had  pursued  towards  those  thirteen 
American  colonies  until  their  stupid  arrogance  had 
driven  them  into  revolt;  and  they  had  already  changed 
in  their  attitude  towards  "The  Fourteenth  Colony," 
as  Canada  was  then  sometimes  called. 

The  opposition  of  the  French-English  colonists  in 
Canada  to  the  overtures  made  by  the  representatives 
of  the  southern  colonies;  the  vigorous  and  successful 
effort  to  resist  armed  invasion  from  the  American  side 
of  the  line  and  conquest  by  the  belligerent  colonists, 
taught  the  Court  at  London  that  it  was  well  worth 
while  to  see  to  it  that  no  conditions  should  arise  which 
might  provoke  the  Canadians  to  assert  their  indepen- 
dence as  the  lost  colonies  had  done. 

Canada  remained  British,  the  thirteen  separated 
colonies  promptly  developed  new  characteristics,  be- 
coming American.  If  in  1783,  there  was  little  if  any- 
thing in  speech,  habit  of  thought,  social  and  communal 
customs,  and  all  else  save  political  opinions,  to  distin- 
guish the  citizen  in  the  United  States  from  the  subject 
in  Canada,  that  similarity  was  of  but  short  duration. 
With  every  year  the  lines  of  divergence  separated  more 
and  more  until  they  may  be  said  to  have  turned  in 
absolutely  opposite  directions  —  the  Americans  go  their 
way,  the  Canadians  go  theirs,  and  it  is  well  for  the 
world,  North  America  especially,  that  it  should  be  so. 

With  the  development  of  facilities  for  intercommuni- 
cation and  the  ease  with  which  the  people  of  either 
country  pass  over  into  the  other,  has  come  a  semblance 


288  THE     COMING     CANADA 

of  once  more  drawing  together.  This  appearance  is 
merely  social  and  commercial;  there  is  nothing  political 
about  it.  One  of  the  conspicuous  features  of  this 
seeming  drawing  together  is  to  be  noted  in  speech:  the 
people  of  either  country  pass  over  the  border,  unmarked 
by  armed  sentries  —  as  one  often  sees  at  European 
frontiers  —  without  detecting  any  great  difference  in 
intonation  or  locution.  If  the  American  rarely  evinces 
any  conspicuous  tendency  to  be  British  in  these  traits, 
it  is  very  certain  that  the  Canadian  often  seems  to 
speak  ''United  States"  with  precisely  the  same  intona- 
tion and  forms  as  are  used  to  the  south  of  the  border. 

In  commercial  matters  the  Briton  in  Canada  long  ago 
gave  up  the  cumbersome  sterling  currency  and  now 
thinks  and  speaks  in  dollars  and  cents,  as  regularly 
converting  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence  into  the  decimal 
notation,  in  order  to  comprehend  values,  as  does  his 
Yankee  neighbour.  In  many  other  matters  there  is 
little,  often  nothing  at  all,  to  differentiate  the  two 
peoples;  but  the  moment  the  realm  of  government  and 
political  institutions  is  entered,  it  at  once  becomes 
apparent  that  the  two  are  farther  apart  than  ever,  and 
that  there  is  no  likelihood  of  there  being  a  revival  of 
the  spirit  which,  perhaps,  in  1849  murmured  for  annexa- 
tion to  the  United  States. 

If  there  were  no  unyielding  limit  to  the  space  which  I 
may  give  to  this  interesting  subject,  it  would  be  prof- 
itable to  consider  the  seeming  resemblances  and  the 
apparent  community  of  interests  which  deceive  some 
people  in  the  United  States  (I  doubt  if  there  are  really 
any  in  Canada)  into  believing  that  the  Canadians  are 


RECIPROCITY  289 

disposed  towards  casting  in  their  lot  with  the  citizens 
of  the  great  and  successful  Republic  on  their  southern 
border.  As  a  matter  of  fact  nearly  all  of  those  appear- 
ances are  utterly  fallacious:  they  are  extraneous,  not 
fundamental. 

In  the  matter  of  government,  it  would  be  well-nigh 
impossible  to  convince  a  Canadian  that  he  enjoys  less 
freedom  than  his  American  neighbour,  because  it  would 
be  positively  incorrect  to  make  the  assertion;  the  mere 
fact  that  there  is,  in  the  ''British  North  American  Act" 
of  1867,  of  the  Imperial  Parliament  of  Great  Britain, 
which  created  the  Dominion,  a  proviso  that  it  shall  be 
administered  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  conflict  with  Eng- 
lish law,  amounts  to  nothing  as  limiting  the  power  of 
self-government  in  Canada.  In  the  security  which 
Dominion  and  local  government  affords  to  life  and 
property,  the  Canadian  will  not  be  far  wrong  when  he 
contends  that  he  is  the  better  off  of  the  two.  If  the 
government  of  borough,  municipality,  township,  county, 
territory,  and  province  in  Canada  is  not  as  truly  repre- 
sentative —  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people  —  as  is  that  of  any  commonwealth  or  minor 
political  subdivision  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
I  do  not  know  what  "representative  government" 
means.  If  Canada  is  wiser  than  the  United  States  in 
slightly  limiting  the  suffrage,  by  property  qualification 
in  some  places,  by  a  literacy  test  generally,  and  in  mak- 
ing it  impossible  for  a  batch  of  alien  immigrants  to  be 
marched  to  the  polls  within  a  month  after  their  arrival 
and  for  them  to  cast  their  ballots,  this  in  no  way  im- 
pugns her  representative  government;    rather  does  it 


290  THE     COMING     CANADA 

make  the  government  more  lawfully  representative: 
it  is  an  example  that  the  elder  republic  would  do  well 
to  follow. 

In  the  matter  of  the  administration  of  justice  and 
court  procedure,  I  am  compelled  to  admit  that  the 
Canadian  is  better  off  than  I  am;  and  I  blush  with 
mortification  as  I  pen  the  confession.  As  to  promptness, 
I  recall  a  phrase  in  a  magazine  story  I  have  just  read 
which  exactly  describes  it:  ^'They'd  give  you  twenty 
years  for  that  job,  and  they'd  do  it  in  twenty  minutes. 
You  buck  against  British  justice  up  here!"  An  eminent 
American  jurist  and  statesman,  Hon.  Albert  J.  Beveridge, 
in  a  series  of  articles  which  has  already  been  mentioned, 
has  shown  conclusively  that  in  promptness  of  action 
and  in  ability  to  enforce  judgment,  the  Canadian  courts 
are  far  ahead  of  ours.  These  conditions  give  a  sense  of 
security  alike  against  highwaymen  and  grinding  monopo- 
lies, for  Canadian  judges  are  quick  in  harnessing  trusts. 

In  the  administration  of  public  utilities,  there  seems 
to  be  a  similarity  in  methods  on  both  sides  of  the  border; 
yet  a  superficial  investigation  of  these  services,  let  us 
take  a  railway  for  example,  shows  that  in  Canada  these 
public  servants  do  not  dare  to  act  in  the  autocratic 
manner  which  is  characteristic  of  all  of  them  in  the 
United  States.  With  pleasing  resemblances  in  peoples 
and  customs  in  many  ways,  there  is  then  a  fundamental 
difference  between  Canada  and  the  United  States  which 
will  make  annexation  not  only  impossible  but  in  nearly 
every  way  undesirable  so  long  as  the  British  Empire 
remains  intact. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 
CANADA   AND   THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE 

I  COMMENCE  this  chapter  with  an  extract  from  the 
Introduction  to  a  very  valuable  and  scholarly  work.* 
"In  1840,  when  responsible  government  may  be  said  to 
commence,  there  were  prevailing  two  main  principles 
of  law  with  regard  to  the  position  of  the  British  Colonies. 
In  the  first  place,  it  was  held  by  the  Crown  lawyers  that 
it  was  not  possible  to  deprive  an  Englishman  of  the 
inestimable  advantages  of  English  law,  and  that  there- 
fore, if  he  settled  in  parts  abroad  which  were  not  under 
a  legitimate  foreign  sovereignty,  he  carried  with  him 
so  much  at  least  of  the  English  law  as  was  appropriate 
to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  found  himself.  But 
obviously,  the  mere  carrying  with  him  of  the  pro\dsions 
of  such  law  would  not  have  been  adequate  to  meet  the 
circumstances  of  a  new  Colony.  It  was  impossible  to 
expect  the  Parliament  of  England  to  legislate  effectively 
for  distant  territories  concerning  which  it  had,  and 
could  have  no  information,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary 
that  there  should  be  passed  by  some  competent  authority 
legislation  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  new  Colony." 

It  is  manifest  at  a  glance  that  the  writer  of  these 
remarks  had  specifically  in  mind  the  Canadian  colonies; 

*  Arthur  Berriedale  Keith,  Responsible  Government  in  the  Dominions, 
3  vols.  191 2. 


292  THE     COMING     CANADA 

and  also  that  the  British  sovereign,  parliament,  and 
statesmen  were  giving  to  those  colonies  a  large  measure 
of  careful  consideration,  because  it  needs  no  statement 
by  me  to  show  that  at  that  time,  the  British  colonies 
in  other  parts  of  the  world  had  not  attained  the  impor- 
tance of  Canada.  Most  of  the  others  were  "Crown 
Colonies";  administered  by  Governors  appointed  directly 
by  the  sovereign  and  responsible  to  him  and  his  Privy 
Council.  These  conditions  indicate  clearly  the  impor- 
tance, as  a  unit  of  the  British  Empire,  which  Canada 
held  in  the  opinion  of  the  Home  Government,  seventy 
and  more  years  ago. 

In  that  same  year,  1840,  was  passed  by  the  British 
Parliament  the  " Union  Act"  which  united  —  only  tem- 
porarily, however  —  the  two  provinces  of  Upper  Canada 
(a  part  of  what  is  now  Ontario)  and  Lower  Canada  (the 
southern  portion  of  the  present  Quebec),  under  a  repre- 
sentative legislature.  The  political  aspect  of  this  Act 
and  its  unsatisfactoriness  have  been  considered  in  a 
previous  chapter. 

But  simultaneously  a  new  start  was  given  in  constitu- 
tional history  by  the  enunciation  and  adoption  of  the 
principle  of  responsible  government.  From  that  begin- 
ning, as  has  been  shown,  the  same  principle  was  extended 
to  each  of  the  provinces  which  were  original,  "charter," 
if  I  may  use  the  expression,  members  of  the  Dominion, 
as  well  as  to  those  which  have  since  been  admitted;  and 
undoubtedly  it  will  be  applied  to  the  territories  when 
population  and  development  justify  their  promotion. 
By  responsible  government  in  this  sense  is  to  be  under- 
stood:   first,  that  the  head  of  the  executive  government 


CANADA     AND     BRITISH      EMPIRE       293 

of  a  province,  being,  within  the  Umits  of  his  jurisdic- 
tion, the  representative  of  the  sovereign,  is,  through  his 
intermediary  the  Governor-General,  responsible  to  the 
Imperial  authority  alone.  But  this  Lieutenant-Governor 
cannot  satisfactorily  conduct  the  affairs  of  his  prov- 
ince without  the  assistance,  counsel,  and  information 
of  subordinate  officials  chosen  from  the  resident  popu- 
lation. Second,  that  these  chief  advisers  of  the  Imperial 
representative  ought  to  have  the  confidence  of  the 
people's  representatives  in  the  local  legislative  assembly. 
Third,  that  the  people  of  the  province  have  the  right 
to  expect  from  such  provincial  administration  the 
exertion  of  their  best  efforts  that  the  Imperial  authority 
within  its  constitutional  limits  should  be  exercised  in 
the  manner  most  consistent  with  their  well-understood 
wishes  and  interests. 

It  thus  becomes  evident  that  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
is  looked  upon  by  the  Imperial  government  as  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  British  Empire.  Nothing  has  been 
done  for  more  than  half  a  century  which  might  tend  to 
the  arousing  in  Canada  of  the  same  feehngs  which 
incited  the  people  of  the  thirteen  southern  colonies  to 
assert  themselves  so  vehemently  that  opposition  finally 
led  to  revolt,  revolt  to  war,  war  to  independence, 
whereby  England  lost  her  most  valuable  over-seas 
possessions.  It  is  not  at  all  inappropriate  to  repeat  here 
that  had  the  King  of  England,  in  1773  to  1775,  and 
his  immediate  advisers  been  inspired  with  the  same 
feelings  towards  ''parts  abroad  which  were  not  under 
a  legitimate  sovereignty,"  and  over  which  England 
claimed  dominion,  as  those  which  have  influenced  the 


294  THE     COMING    CANADA 

British  Government  since  1783,  or  certainly  since  1840, 
it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  there  would  probably 
never  have  been  a  Revolutionary  War  at  all.  That 
those  thirteen  colonies  would  have  demanded  indepen- 
dence eventually,  was  possibly  inevitable,  our  fuller 
knowledge  of  social,  poHtical,  and  religious  conditions 
in  the  eighteenth  century  seem  to  justify  that  assump- 
tion; but  it  would  have  come  and  probably  been 
granted  without  such  serious  rupture  as  is  connoted  by 
a  long  war. 

If  the  whole  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  its  parts;  and  if 
those  parts  interact,  the  one  upon  the  others;  then  if 
by  reason  of  her  units  in  various  sections  of  the  world 
Great  Britain  is  a  World  Power,  so  Canada,  too,  is  a 
world  power  both  directly  and  indirectly,  and  each  year 
seems  to  bring  out  more  clearly  the  willingness  of  the 
Canadians  to  accept  the  responsibility  which  the  position 
carries  with  it.  To  take  for  a  pleasing  illustration  of 
the  sentimental  bond  by  which  the  British  Empire  is 
now  tied  together  and  the  close  intimacy  which  exists 
between  the  English  mother  and  the  Canadian  offspring, 
I  may  refer  to  the  fact  that  on  October  21,  1909,  the 
Royal  Edward  Tuberculosis  Institute  at  Montreal  was 
opened  by  King  Edward  in  person,  by  means  of  special 
electric  connection  between  the  Library  at  West  Dean 
Park,  Colchester,  England,  and  the  Institute,  thousands 
of  miles  away  at  Montreal.  By  this  wire  a  cablegram 
was  sent  direct  from  King  Edward,  in  which  he  de- 
clared ''the  Royal  Edward  Institute  at  Montreal  is  now 
open."  It  may  seem  to  be  a  small  matter  to  mention 
here,  yet  I  think  it  is  filled  with  suggestiveness. 


CANADA     AND     BRITISH     EMPIRE       295 

The  keen  and  intelligent  interest  which  the  Canadians 
took  in  the  British  general  election  of  1909  spoke  for 
the  fact  that  the  Dominion  considers  itself  a  part  of  the 
Empire;  while  the  respect  shown  by  British  statesmen 
for  Canada's  opinion  at  that  time  was  an  admission  that 
the  Dominion's  assumption  of  sympathy  and  responsi- 
biUty  is  based  upon  a  sound  foundation.  .  Certainly  one 
part  of  the  definition  which  Mr.  Asquith  gave  of  Liberal- 
ism, in  a  speech  made  before  the  "  Eighty  Club,"  London, 
on  July  22,  1909,  met  with  cordial  approval  throughout 
Canada.  He  said:  "As  regards  the  Empire,  to  secure 
real  unity  by  allowing  the  freest  diversity  and  the 
fullest  liberty  to  self -development  in  all  its  parts." 

That  the  Dominion  of  Canada  holds  a  great  position 
and  that  it  fills  a  wide  arc  in  the  Imperial  horizon,  was 
demonstrated  by  the  official  and  social  events  con- 
nected with  the  coronation  of  King  George  V.  More 
than  one  hundred  Canadians,  officials  and  the  wives  of 
those  who  were  accompanied  by  their  spouses,  were 
invited  to  Westminster  Abbey.  Sir  Wilfred  Laurier, 
at  that  time  Prime  Minister,  but  very  soon  to  be  deposed 
by  Mr.  Borden,  was  the  only  Canadian  who  was  honoured 
by  being  entertained  as  a  Royal  Guest.  In  this,  however, 
there  was  nothing  invidious,  for  it  was  impossible  to 
extend  the  courtesy  beyond  Sir  Wilfred  without  making 
the  list  of  those  who  were  recognised  as  deserving  it 
altogether  too  large. 

The  importance  which  the  Imperial  Government 
ascribes  to  the  Dominion  is  indicated  still  further  by 
the  gradual  advance  in  rank  and  dignity  of  the  person 
appointed  to  represent  the  Home  Government  as  inter- 


296  THE     COMING     CANADA 

mediary  between  it  and  the  local  administration.  It 
has  now  reached  as  high  socially  and  officially  as  seems 
to  be  possible.  The  present  Governor- General  is  a 
member  of  the  Royal  Family  of  Great  Britain,  the  uncle 
of  the  reigning  monarch,  the  personage  who,  had  the 
late  King,  Edward  VII,  left  no  children,  would  now  be 
himself  upon  the  throne.  We  cannot  therefore  wonder 
very  much  that  there  are  those,  both  in  Canada  and  in 
England,  who  have  advocated  making  the  Governor- 
Generalship  a  permanent,  life  appointment,  the  post 
to  be  filled  by  a  member  of  the  Royal  family,  probably 
one  who  is  not  directly  in  the  line  of  succession.  From 
what  I  have  seen  and  heard,  I  think  this  would  be  a 
mistake.  The  Duke  of  Connaught  is  immensely  popu- 
lar, I  know,  and  remarkably  affable,  yet  somehow  I 
doubt  if  the  atmosphere  surrounding  him  is  just  the 
right  one  for  the  Canadians  to  breathe  all  the  time.  Yet 
with  this  sentiment  existing,  be  it  powerful  or  weak, 
developing  or  decreasing,  there  cannot  be,  I  am  sure, 
any  sincere  desire  on  the  part  of  even  official  Canada, 
and  certainly  not  generally,  to  have  established  in 
Canada,  at  the  Governor- General's  residence,  something 
like  unto  —  or  imitative  of  —  a  Royal  Court.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  persuade  the  present  Governor- General, 
Field  Marshal,  His  Royal  Highness,  the  Duke  of  Con- 
naught  and  Strathearn,  to  lend  himself  to  such  a  scheme. 
He  is  a  son  of  Queen  Victoria,  who  was  the  very  per- 
sonification of  conservatism  in  matters  pertaining  to 
Court  form,  ceremony,  and  punctilio.  But  the  Duke's 
own  tastes  (and  they  seem  to  betray  a  trace  of  paternal 
heredity),  encouraged  by  his  own  experiences,  convince 


CANADA     AND     BRITISH     EMPIRE       297 

many  observers  that  he  will  be  a  democratic  Governor. 
A  year's  experience  appears  to  have  strengthened  this 
opinion,  and  there  is  throughout  Canada  a  conviction 
that  the  Duke's  sojourn  has  tightened  the  bond  which 
unites  the  Dominion  to  the  Empire.  Everywhere,  one 
hears  regrets  that  the  Duchess'  health  demands  that 
she  return  to  England  for  a  time  next  year,  and  the 
earnest  hope  that  she  may  speedily  come  back  for  a  long 
stay  in  Canada. 

Almost  the  first  official  utterance  of  the  Duke,  as 
Governor- General,  shows  a  combination  of  that  demo- 
cratic idea  with  an  appreciation  of  the  growing  impor- 
tance of  the  country  which  he  had  been  appointed  to 
govern.  At  the  luncheon  given  His  Royal  Highness 
immediately  upon  landing  at  Quebec,  October  13,  191 1, 
and  taking  the  oath  of  office,  he  said,  in  response  to  the 
official  welcome  voiced  by  the  Right  Hon.  Robert  Laird 
Borden,  Prime  Minister  and  President  of  the  King's 
Privy  Council  for  Canada:  "I  have  been  specially  asked 
by  the  King,  my  nephew,  to  express  to  the  Canadian 
people  a  personal  message  of  affection  and  ever  abiding 
interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  welfare  of  this  great 
Dominion.  I  am  not  certain  of  the  number  of  times  the 
King  has  visited  Canada,  but  certainly  on  many  occa- 
sions, and  the  last  on  the  great  historic  occasion  ^when 
you  celebrated  the  Quebec  Tercentary.  Each  time 
His  Majesty's  interest  has  grown,  and  I  need  scarcely 
assure  you  he  now  takes  the  same  profound  interest, 
but  in  degree  ever  increasing,  and  the  most  fervent  wish 
to-day  of  King  George  is  that  the  prosperity  of  Canada 
may  continue  and  flourish  more  and  more." 


298  THE     COMING     CANADA 

The  Dominion  of  Canada  is  fully  alive  to  its  imperial 
responsibilities.  For  a  time,  some  other  units  of  the 
British  Empire,  the  one  which  for  so  long  was  heralded 
as  the  only  one  upon  which  the  sun  never  sets,  were 
somewhat  disposed  to  claim  much  for  themselves  be- 
cause they  had  contributed  directly  to  the  defence  of 
the  Empire  by  giving  men-of-war.  To  this  Canada 
retorted  that  in  providing  means  for  crossing  the  conti- 
nent rapidly  on  British  territory,  from  Atlantic  to 
Pacific,  she  had  not  thought  alone  of  her  own  material 
development  and  commercial  advantage,  but  had 
thereby  contributed  a  vital  link  in  the  All  Red  Route 
which  now  encircles  the  Globe.  Do  all  my  readers 
realise  that  a  British  subject  can  take  a  steamer  at  any 
one  of  several  ports  in  the  British  Isles,  go  to  Canada, 
cross  the  continent  on  British  soil;  take  a  steamer  at 
Vancouver  or  Victoria,  and  by  way  of  Fanning  Island 
go  to  Australia;  thence  to  Cape  Town,  South  Africa; 
up  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  touching  at  Wolfish  Bay, 
and  perhaps  other  British  colonies  and  Atlantic  islands; 
thus  back  to  the  port  of  departure,  without  having 
entered  a  single  port  or  set  foot  on  land  over  which  King 
George  does  not  reign?  I  think  I  am  correct  in  saying 
that  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible  for  any  other 
national  to  do  this;  the  necessity  for  a  steamer  coaling 
being  considered. 

The  Dominion  of  Canada  justly  takes  pride  in  the 
reflection  that  it  is  her  transcontinental  railway  which 
has  contributed  much  to  this  possibility  that  is  pleasing 
to  the  patriotism  of  a  loyal  British  subject.  But  Canada 
recognises  that  her  indebtedness  to  the  Empire  demands 


CANADA     AND     BRITISH     EMPIRE       299 

that  she  shall  bear  a  greater  share  of  the  burden  than 
the  building  and  maintenance  of  one  or  three  or  half- 
a-dozen  transcontinental  railways.  She  has  recognised 
her  obhgation  by  launching  vessels  of  war,  and  by 
agreeing  to  build,  equip,  and  maintain  several  Dread- 
naughts  that  are  to  be  units  of  the  Imperial  Navy. 

Not  for  years  has  there  been  in  Canada  any  serious 
talk  of  independence,  although  in  the  year  1849  some 
discontented  and  disappointed  people  were  disposed 
to  discuss  the  advisability  of  asking  to  be  annexed  to 
the  United  States.  I  do  not  find,  however,  that  even 
then  there  were  many  who  were  willing  to  bear  Canada's 
share  of  the  expense,  in  men  and  means,  of  the  war  with 
England  that  would  probably  have  been  the  outcome  of 
such  a  move.  That  evanescent  murmur  was  due  to 
depressed  agricultural,  commercial,  and  industrial  con- 
ditions, and  the  added  fact  that  the  British  Government, 
by  giving  up  a  slight  tendency  towards  preferential 
tariffs  in  favour  of  the  colonies,  had  seemed  to  desert 
the  young,  weak,  and  struggling  members  of  the  family, 
Canada  being  one  of  these. 

Before  long,  however,  British  statesmen  perceived 
their  mistake,  and  while  they  did  not  recede  altogether 
from  their  position  apropos  free  trade  versus  protection 
or  preferential  tariffs,  they  did  set  themselves  to  the 
task  of  showing  Canada,  and  not  Canada  only  but, 
other  things  being  equal,  all  the  colonies,  that  they  were 
considered  members  of  what  ought  to  be  a  happy  family. 

It  should  be  noted  that  it  had  been  prophesied  by 
many  that  the  result  of  the  British  conquest  of  Canada 
would  be  independence  for  the  British  North  American 


300  THE     COMING     CANADA 

colonies.  This  prophesy  was  made  to  include  even 
Canada  itself,  and  it  has  to  be  admitted  that  ^'the 
Fourteenth  Colony"  was  not  saved  to  the  British  crown 
without  much  trouble  and  expense.  The  lesson  learnt 
by  the  British  Government  was  a  profitable  one,  and 
care  was  taken  that  Canada  should  not  have  the  same 
provocation  to  seek  independence  that  the  thirteen 
colonies  had. 

I  see  no  sign  of  Canada's  wishing  to  be  independent. 
Those  who  really  are  at  the  head  of  local  affairs  seem 
to  me  to  echo,  practically  unanimously,  the  sentiment 
of  Sir  John  Macdonald:  "A  British  subject  I  was  born; 
a  British  subject  I  will  die!"  When  the  question  of 
annexation  to  the  United  States  is  broached,  many 
Canadians  now  laughingly  retort:  ''When  you  Ameri- 
cans really  wish  to  come  back  to  your  mother,  we  are 
ready  to  join  your  country  to  our  own!"  What  a  con- 
trast is  presented  by  conditions  on  our  southern  and 
northern  borders!  Of  the  former  who  shall  dare  to  say 
what  the  outcome  will  be?  Of  the  latter  no  one  need 
hesitate  to  prophesy  a  great  future  for  The  Coming 
Canada. 


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Bradley,  Arthur  Grenville.     The  Making  of  Canada,  1763- 

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Labrador.     1909. 
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and  Romance  of  the  North-west  Mounted  Police.     19 10. 
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1910. 
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(Illustrated.)     191 1. 
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Dominions.     3  v.     191 2. 
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1898. 
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1907. 
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Cabot,  g8j-i^oj.     1906. 
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INDEX 


Abraham,  Plains  of,  8i 
Acadia,  civil  war  in,  70 
Adam  of  Bremen,  5 
Agricultural  resources  and  develop- 
ment, no,  116 
Alberta  Province,  175 
Alexander,  Sir  Wm.,  Earl  of  Sel- 
kirk, 66 
Andros,  Maj.  Sir  Edmund,  71 
Annexation  to  U.  S.  A.,  286 
Antilia  (Atlantis),  Island  of,  9 
Argall's  attack  on  Mt.  Desert  and 

Acadia,  65 
Army  and  Militia,  106 
Assistance  to  railways,  189 
Atlantic      Islands,      myths     and 
legends,  9 

Bancroft,  H.  H.,  225 

Banff,  208 

Barley,  237 

Bay  of  Chaleurs,  Cartier  at,  38 

Beauharnais,   Gov.,  expedition  to 

Pacific,  45 
Biggar,  H.  P.,  7 
Blending    of    St.    Lawrence    and 

Hudson  Bay  basins,  201 
Boundary  disputes  with  U.  S.,  155 
Braddock's  defeat,  78 
Brazil,  Island  of,  9 
Bredin,  W.  P.,  232 
Briand,  R.  C.  bishop,  his  caution, 

91 


Britannia,  S.  S.,  279 
British  Columbia,  144,  224 
British  Government's  attention  to 

Canada,  88 
British  treatment  of  Indians,  40 
Bull,  a  Papal,  defined,  3 
Bytown,  afterwards  Ottawa,  94 

Cabot,  Giovanni,  John,  6,  9,  10,  12 

Cabot,    Sebastian,    discoverer    of 
"North  Sea,"  Hudson  Bay,  47 

Cameron,  Mrs.  Agnes  Deans,  229 

Canada  and  Louisiana,  communi- 
cation, 44 

Canada  in  1763,  85 

Canada's  one-thousand-mile- 
wheat-field,  229 

Canada's  relation  to  British  Em- 
pire, 291 

Canadian  geography,  former,  205, 

215 
Canadian  Northern  Railway,  187 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  181 
Canadian    towns,    their    develop- 
ment, 235 
Carleton,  Gov.  Guy,  153 
Carmichael-Smyth,  Maj.,  277 
Cartier,  Jacques,  15,  17,  37 
Chalmers,  historian,  43 
Chartres,  Fort  de,  44 
Chateau  le  grajid,  legend,  22 
Christianity  in  Iceland,  3 
Cities  in  winter,  251 


3o6 


INDEX 


Civil  war  in  U.  S.,  162 

Coast  scenery,  134 

Columbus,  C,  2,  6,  II 

Commercial  methods,  288 

Communication,  Canada  and  Lou- 
isiana, 44 

Conditions  in  Canada,  common 
carriers,  283 

Cordilleran  Belt,  wealth,  113 

Corte  Reale,  Caspar,  14 

Cougar  Caves,  148 

Coureurs  des  bois,  217 

Courts  of  law,  102 

Culdees,  Irish,  3 

Cunard,  Sir  Samuel,  279        • 

Curling,  256 

De  Callieres,  73 

De  la  Roche,  P.,  30 

Demarcation,  Can.  and  U.  S.,  154 

De  Monts,  P.,  18 

Denonville,  Gov.,  55 

Dickinson,  John,  address  to  Cana- 
dians, 150 

Discoverie,  mutiny  on,  48 

Dominion,  creation  of,  92;  defined, 
i;  responsibilities,  298 

Doughty,  Dr.  A.  G.,  262 

Douglas,  Sir  James,  221 

Douglas,  Thos.,  Earl  of  Selkirk, 
62,  221 

Duke  of  Connaught,  Gov.  Gen., 
296 

Elgin,  Lord,  Gov.  Gen.,  95 
EUice,  The  Rt.  Hon.  Edward,  221 
England's  claims  in  N.  A.,  64 
English  discoveries,  14 
Eric  the  Red,  Norse  discoverer,  4; 
saga  of,  5 


Eskimos,  blonde,  8 

European    ideas    of    exploration, 

loth  and  15th  centuries,  7 
Expeditions  to  Hudson  Bay,  57 

Fagundes,  J.  A.,  14 

Fairbanks,  Henry,  276 

Fair  profits,  285 

Fenian  raids,  162 

Fernandez,  J.,  Llavrador,  13 

Fisheries,  125 

Flatey  Book,  The,  5 

Folklore,  exotic,  20,  26 

France's  claims  in  N.  A.,  65 

Eraser,  Simon,  62,  221,  274 

French  at  "North  Sea,"  Hudson 

Bay,  47 
French  colonisation,  18,  19,  28,  30, 

40 
French-English  wars,  causes  of,  64 
French  reprisals,  72 
French  rights  on  Hudson  Bay,  56 
Friction,  French  and  English,  42 
Frontenac,  Gov.,  72 
Fruits,  123 
Fur- trade,  18 

Garrisons,  106 

Geological  areas,  iii 

George  III.,  constitutes  and  defines 

Canada,  83 
Glaciers,  145 

Governments,  a  contrast,  289 
Governor- General,  295 
Grand  Trunk  Railway,  179 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway,  186 
Great  Lakes,  130 
Great  Western  Railway,  179 
Greenland,  4,  9,  13 
GrenfeU,  Rev.  W.  T.,  144 


INDEX 


307 


Groseillier,  explorer,  217 
Gunnbjorn,  Norse  discoverer,  4 

Habitants,  19;  traits,  21,  152 

Halifax,  267 

Hennepin,  Father  Louis,  49 

Hincks,  Sir  F.,  275 

Hochelaga,  Montreal,  16 

Hopkins,  J.  C,  "  Canadian  Ency.," 

271 
House  of  Commons,  98 
Howley,  M.  R.,  R.  C.  bishop,  12 
Hudson  Bay,  57;  Jesuits  on,  48 
Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  51,  52,  53,  54, 

60,  211,  216,  218 
Hudson,   Henry,   re-discoverer  of 

Bay,  47 

Iberville,  attacks  on  Hudson  Bay 
posts,  59 

Iceland,  Christianity  in,  3 

Immigration,  165 

Independence,  not  considered,  299 

Indians,  200;  Carriers,  227; 
Coast,  227;  Sekania,  226; 
taken  to  France,  39;  treatment 
of,  36,  40 

Influence  of  early  Norse  discov- 
eries, 6 

Intercolonial  Railway,  180 

Interior  Central  Plateau,  wealth, 
112 

Investors,  foreign,  164 

Jesuits,  35,  42,  48 

Joliet,  Louis,  28 

Justice,  administration  of,  290 

Karlsefni,  Thorfinn,  Norse  dis- 
coverer, 5 


King    of     England,     interest    in 

Canada,  294 
Kingsford,  Wm.,  historian,  262 
Kirke,  the  brothers,  36 

Labrador,  2,  127,  144 

Lachine  massacre,  72 

Laggan,  213 

Lakes,  Fraser,  228;    Louise,  210; 

Nipigon,    194;    of   the   Woods, 

194;  Stuart,  226;  Summit,  214; 

Superior,  198 
Lakes  and  Rivers,  129 
Lallemant,  Father  Jerome,  49 
La  Salle,  Robert,  42 
La  Tour,  Claude  de,  "baronet"  of 

Nova  Scotia,  67 
Laurentian  Rocks,  128 
Laval,  R.  C.  bishop,  54 
Le    Caron,    RecoUet    missionary, 

S3 

Legislative  council,  89 

Leif  Eriksson  (Leif  Ericsson),  4 

Le  Moine,  Sir  J.  M.,  262 

Le  Moyne  family,  43 

Lescarbot,  19 

Louisbourg,  76 

Louisiana  and  Canada,  44 

Loup  garoux,  le,  20 

Lucas,  Sir  C.  P.,  historian,  87 

Mackenzie,  Sir  Alexander,  61,  221, 

271 
Mackenzie     River,     basin,     223; 

vegetation,  223 
Macoun,  John,  231 
Macpherson,  D.  L.,  278 
McTaggart,  277 
Manitoba,    173,    239,    245,    247; 

derivation  of  name,  242 


3o8 


INDEX 


Marquette,    Father,    not    a    dis- 
coverer, 28 
Merritt,  The  Hon.  W.  H.,  279 
Mississippi  River,  discovery,  42 
"Model  Province,"  245,  247 
Montreal,  seat  of  government,  95 
Mount  Royal,  Montreal,  Hoche- 

laga,  16,  265 
Morice,  Rev.  A.  G.,  224 
Mountain  Peaks,  Assiniboine,  214; 
Lefroy,  211;   Logan,  206;   Mc- 
Kinley,    206;     Natazhat,    206; 
St.  Elias,  206;   St.  Pierre,  212; 
The  Saddle,  213;   Wrangle,  206 
Mountain  region,  wealth,  113 
Murray,  Gen,  first  provisional  gov., 
87 

Navigators,  early,  2 

Neutrality,  France  and  England 
in  N.  A.,  69 

New  Brunswick,  wealth,  in 

Newfoundland,  discovery,  12;  in- 
dependent, i;  not  the  oldest 
Brit,  colony,  143 

Norse  discoverers,  4,  5;  influence, 
6 

North  West  Company,  61,  63 

North  West  Mounted  Police,  104, 
147,  209 

Northern  grain  and  fruit  sections, 
117 

Northern  St.  Lawrence  basin,  199 

Nova  Scotia  wealth,  in 

Ontario,  etc.,  wealth,  112 
Original  elements  of  Dominion,  96 
Ottawa,  94,  250,  267 

Papal  Bull  defined,  3 


Parker,  Sir  Gilbert,  262 
Parkman,  Francis,  27 
"Patriots'  Rebellions,"  95 
Phipps,  Adl.,  Sir  Wm.,  74 
Pont-Grav6,  19 
Portuguese  discoveries,  14 
Poutrincourt,  Gov.,  19 
Present  government,  99 
Provincial  governments,  100 
Provisional  districts,  97 
Public  lands,  how  acquired,  165 

Qualifications  for  civil  office,  86 
Quebec,  36,  68,  81,  261 
Quebec,  Act  of,  1774,  88 

Radisson,  P.-E.,  48,  55,  217 
Railways,  178;  development,  133 
Rapids,  St.  Lawrence  River,  202 
Razilli,  Isaac  de,  70 
Reciprocity  with  U.  S.,  281,  282, 

284,  286 
"Red  Man,"  derivation  of  term, 

37 

Religious  liberty,  86 

Representative  institutions,  de- 
velopment of,  91 

Responsible  government,  292 

Richelieu,  Cardinal,  67 

Riel,  Louis,  his  rebellion,  240 

Roberval,  17,  28 

Roche  perc6,  le,  24 

Rocky  Mountains,  206;  scenerj', 
129;  in  winter,  258 

Rogers,  Maj.  A.  B.,  278 

Roman  Catholic  missionaries,  33 

Ross,  The  Hon.  John,  277 

Royal  William,  S.S.,  279 

Rupert,  Prince,  51 

Ryswick,  Treaty  of,  74 


INDEX 


309 


Saguenay  River,  203 

St.  John,  town,  264 

St.  Lawrence  River,  192,  201,  257; 

discovery,  15 
Saga  of  Eric  the  Red,  5 
Salmon,  146 

Saskatchewan  Province,  174 
Scenery  on  Great  Lakes,  196 
Schenectady,  assault,  72 
School  houses,  173 
Senators,  97 
Settlers,  early,  240 
"Seven  Cities,"  Island  of,  9 
Sherman,  Gen.  W.  T.,  230 
Simpson,  Sir  George,  274 
Skating,  256 
Smith,   Donald  A.,  Lord  Strath- 

cona  and  Mt.  Royal,  221 
Snowsheds,  258 
Snowshoeing,  254 
Snow  sports,  252 
Social  life  in  winter,  259 
Soncino,  Raimondo  di,  10 
Successful  labour,  170 
Suite,  Benjamin,  20,  48 
Summer  expedition,  131 
Stefansson,  V.,  recent  explorer,  8 
Stories,    Chateau    le    grand,    22; 

Le  Roche  perc6,  24 

Talon,  Royal  Intendant,  50 
Tardiness  in  evangelising,  32 
"The  Barren  Grounds,"  222 
"The  Fourteenth  Colony,"  91 


Thirteen  Colonies  and  Canada,  150 
Thompson,  David,  62 
Thousand  Islands,  202 
Thunder  Bay,  197 
Timber,  125;  line,  207,  211 
Tobogganning,  253 
Toronto,  96 

Tourist  in  Rocky  Mts.,  208 
Travelling  in  eastern  Canada,  142 
Treaty  of  1783,  Paris,  155,  150 

United  Empire  Loyalists,  159 
Utrecht,  Peace  of,  74 

Vancouver,  270 

Vancouver,  Capt.  George,  274 

Van  Home,  Sir  William,  278 

Varennes,  P.-G.,  45 

Verendrye,    discoverer   of    Rocky 

Mts.,  45 
Victoria,  Fort  Comosun,  269 
Vineland,  9 

War,   1744-48,   76;    1753-63,  82; 

of  American  Independence,  89, 

153;  of  1812,  92,  161 
Western  exploration,  41 
Wheat  crops,  231,  233,  236,  243 
Wheat  regions,  120 
Wilcox,  Walter  D.,  210 
Winnipeg  policeman,  244 
Winter  in  Canada,  249 

Yeigh,  Frank,  148 


